I’m away to brave the roads and embark on the long journey home to my parent’s house in Wicklow for the holidays. It will be a brief visit as I will have to get back to work immediately after Christmas. My College portfolio and Mugwump won’t put themselves together (obviously enough). Still, I look forward to a few days of games, crap telly and food.
Have a great Christmas all of you, the very best wishes for a stress free and enjoyable holiday.
Working for others. Greasing the machine. Earning a living by slowly pissing away the one life you will ever have through mindless drudgery. Shit, isn’t it?
For this reason, I generally detest office or work based comedies, be they movies, sitcoms or comics. They usually serve as nothing more than over the water-cooler fodder, merely something else to associate your pathetic existence with. “It’s so great because isn’t that just like my life?” “Yes, isn’t the wacky/fat/creepy/obnoxious/lecherous guy in it just like the wacky/fat/creepy/obnoxious/lecherous guy that we work with?”
Should you find yourself having one of these conversations with a colleague, I can thoroughly recommend a swift course of sterilisation followed by repeatedly smashing yourself in the face with a copy of the Dilbert anthology.
When I discovered that Crispin Glover had appeared in a little seen office comedy a few years ago, I approached it with more than a little apprehension. Knowing that Glover, in between being a full time genius, also has to pay the rent somehow (case in point: Charlie’s Angels), it was curiosity that won me over.
The joy begins the moment Glover appears onscreen, essentially playing himself. A public records office puts out an ad stating that “Adventurous personalities need not apply”. The one potential candidate is Bartleby, and his awkward, distant interview technique is one which I will be making Cliff Notes for. Upon being hired, he excels at his work for the first few weeks, however, slowing over time to a complete standstill when reprimanded by his employer. When questioned upon his lack of effort, or being given a direct order, Bartleby’s sole response is: “I would prefer not to.”
A simple premise, yes but over the course of the movie, Bartleby’s complete insistence that he would “Prefer not to”, slowly begins to have adverse effects on his co-workers and employer. Joe Piscopo makes a welcome return to the screen (the first thing I have seen him in since the early 1990’s) as a thuggish lout intent on solving the Bartleby issue by beating the crap out of him.
The plot develops beautifully and the movie raises far more questions than the 80 minute running time could hope to answer, but this is its overall success. Glover gives a performance which while not as articulate as some of his other offerings, provides a satisfactory and insightful delight that is rarely taken away from contemporary cinema.
The relationship between Bartleby and his boss, who is caught between wanting to strangle and hug his peculiar employee, is an important and ultimately beautiful element of the movie.
The irony of this magnificent little piece of cinema is this: that your standard office drones would neither understand, nor enjoy anything on display here. This questions why we spend most of our lives at jobs we despise, without the use of self aggrandising postmodernism or clichéd cynicism. I could try and convince you further but I would prefer not to.
Two amazing Crispin Glover interviews. The accounts of the Letterman incidents are wonderful, his explanation of the “It” trilogy is fantastic as well. Enjoy:
For the record, I think he would have made an amazing Joker.
You will hear about my recent silence later, it is of little interest and manifests in a puerile adolescent ramble anyway.
Whilst having a breakfast of last night’s pizza and coffee, I saw a video over at akirathedon.com of Joaquin Phoenix appearing on David Letterman.
There are several schools of thought on this, the first being that it is a hoax, a piece of Andy Kaufman inspired trickery. Andy always played on the gullibility of the media and it was amazing how his adopted personas would inspire such an onslaught of hatred and misunderstanding. The other opinions I have heard range from a complete mental breakdown to a well planned promotional venture. If my own feelings count for anything, I would see a man who has apparently just decided to do something that he is really into. He has expressed recently how much this (making music) means to him, and has always done so in a very modest and self deprecating way. I could easily understand if someone who was slightly unsure of themselves felt like breaking away from everything that had brought about public adulation, would feel insecure asking their fans and admirers to try and accept them in a new light. To try anything new in life is a risk, a challenge and a brave step, maybe Joaquin seems difficult as it does appear that the world is laughing at him right now. I see it as a genuine and brave move if sincere or a brilliantly executed prank if this is what it turns out to be.
What stuck with me more so than anything Joaquin had to say was Letterman’s attitude towards him, I watch Letterman occasionally and his shtick has never really resonated in a pleasant way with me. He has this undeserved air of superiority towards anyone that is in any way outside of the plastic starlet demographic, which most current male actors fall into these days as well. He always goes for the cheap shots, as Akira very astutely pointed out: “And why is a beard funny?” Indeed, it brought to mind a few other interviews in which I had seen Letterman pull the same routines, it tends to be with guests who are seen as a bit peculiar by some, but also who seem like genuinely decent people, if a little daffy. That being said, I am sure that if Clooney appeared sporting a facial growth of note, Letterman would have quipped and it would have been laughed off. It is when Letterman appears to hit a nerve; the bully in him comes out. I have assembled a few clips for your consideration, the first being an interview with the man who makes up part of my own brain, Crispin Glover:
Ok, so it is a possibility that Mr. Glover is a bit unconventional, but he is also incorporating elements of Kaufman here, and it just seems as if everyone misses the point entirely. What is worthy of note is David’s rattled postscript to the interview: “I’m 40, I went to college….” Here is the follow up interview from a few years later:
And a song from the album he was promoting at the time, which I have on vinyl. It is such an amazing record, with spoken word, song and scariness. Seek it out. This is “Clowny Clowny Clown”
Oh, go on, here is his masterwork, from 2003’s Willard. Check out R Lee Emery in the video. I love that man.
Now, back to Letterman, here he is giving Mr T guff, now, I don’t acre how crazy he is, he’s Mr F*&@~”G T, the man could remove your head. He threatens Letterman that he will, and the audience. Notable for his comments on George Peppard and the A Team, there is history there, but that’s for another day.
