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Full Frontal
By Dave DePino
After almost a decade and a half of critically acclaimed, box office successes, I suppose even a top of the line director like Steven Soderbergh is entitled to take leave of of his senses, or so it seems with his latest outing, Full Frontal. It's not that the film is really all bad, it's just that it isn't good. If that seems contradictory, well, let's look at the film several different ways and see if you might just want to stay home, pop corn, and re-rent Erin Brockovich instead of trudging to your neighborhood multiplex.
Let's start with the production. Recently Soderberg (a.k.a. cinematographer Peter Andrews for union purposes) used several styles of camera work, most of which were of the guerrilla, hand-held, jumpy-grainy, artsy genre in his hit film, Traffic. This worked there as the different styles helped to separate the different areas the drama was brought to. Here, with FF, the cinematic (Soderberg/Andrews) quality in some areas looks like a fourth generation copy of a home video which was filmed with flood lights. That, I'm sure, is what he was going for in this very spoofy, satirical comedy/drama. Only thing is, by film's end, you might need eye drops or an aspirin.
FF makes fun of a lot of things - people, professions, friendships, movie making, love making, trouble making, etc. - including making fun of FF itself, which, by the way, is a film within a film. If you can sort everything out first time seeing this mishmash, count yourself lucky. To prep audiences, the opening scenes show the main characters with a few, descriptive words printed about them. This might help if you have pencil in hand (I did; it didn't). When you think you have a handle on the angst-ridden group of neurotic, borderline-schizophrenics you are watching, you figure out this is only the movie within the movie. The group of neurotic, borderline-schizophrenics involved in making the movie, and their friends, are a whole other ball of wax to deal with.
Then there is the dialogue. It seems as if half of it was adlibbed. Sure it has a ring of realism, but in the film it just comes off like someone didn't learn their lines and there was no time or money to do a retake or dubbing. To its credit, some of the lines and situations are very funny, that is if you are still awake or care. And some of the characters making fun of many of the types we all know are a hoot.
If I got Coleman Hough's script right, the reality story is the making of a film, Rendezvous, in which Catherine being played by Francesca (Julia Roberts) is interviewing a famous actor, Nicholas, being played by Calvin (Blair Underwood). Calvin is making an action, buddy-film with another famous actor, Brad Pitt (played somewhat convincingly by an uncredited Brad Pitt), blah, blah, blah.
These actors belong to a loosely structured group, or are, at least, somehow interconnected. There is a corporate type, Lee (Catherine Keener), her distraught, screen and magazine writer husband, Carl (a good turn by David Hyde Pierce) and her unlucky-at-love sister (Mary McCormack), who is a masseuse. Also, some fun is added by Arty (Enrico Colantoni) who is a screenwriter (Carl's writing partner) as well as being the director of a small theatre (theatre row's Complex is readily recognized) which is putting on some unbelievably nutty play. The play, The Sound and the Fuhrer, is about Hitler and the actor playing Hitler is a scream - and the actor playing the actor is a terrific Nicky Katt. All these folks are invited to a fortieth birthday party for Gus (David Duchovny). Where's Gus?
I think after a second viewing, I might have a different feeling about this "experiment" of a film, but if I hadn't seen it in the first place, I would have been given back 110 minutes of my life. Next time I'll save the time.
As video suggestions, any of writer/director Soderberg's films will be enjoyable. Perhaps his breakthrough film, "sex, lies and videotapes," 1989, would be a good choice. This giant indie, award winner deals with the lives of a childless couple and the woman's lustful sister. The drama is all captured on tape by another man who loves to record women as they talk about their sex lives. Stars James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher and Laura San Giancomo.
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