Post by klep on May 6, 2019 6:53:40 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/6: Tank Girl
SADIE HAWKINS WEEK!
Tank Girl is based on the comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, but the film itself is largely the child of Rachel Talalay. While she worked closely with the creators during production, it was she alone who went to various studios and pitched the project, and she who fought for the creative team to be what it was. Among the talent she was able to line up for the project was Catherine Hardwicke as production designer, Malcolm McDowell as the villain Kesslee, and Stan Winston to do the animatronics (who cut his studio's usual rate in half to get to work on the film).
Unfortunately, as is all-too-commonly the case for women in Hollywood, Talalay was not trusted to bring her vision to fruition. She was constantly fighting with the studio over her film. She had to plot and scheme to get certain things - like Tank Girl's (Lori Petty) relationship with her mutant kangaroo boyfriend Booga (Jeff Kober) into the film. If the result feels a little disjointed and thrown together, that's because after Talaly handed it off, the studio cut it to ribbons.
There's so much fun to be had in Tank Girl. Malcolm McDowell gets to chew delicious, delicious scenery in that very Malcolm McDowell way, and a young Naomi Watts gets to use her own accent as Jet Girl. There's a lot of madcap action, fun interstitial animated sequences, a big musical number, brilliant animatronic mutant kangaroos (one of which is Ice-T!), and even a cameo by Iggy Pop. It has the feeling of a cartoon without being a cartoon, and it's set to a fantastic Courtney Love-curated soundtrack anchored by artists like Björk, Veruca Salt, Joan Jett, and Hole. By all rights it should have been a rousing success and a cornerstone of the riot grrrl movement.
But it is, unfortunately, also flawed and much of that has nothing to do with Talalay. Those animated sequences are fun, but they frequently replace scenes - including the ending - that the studio didn't like or that Talalay was unable to film - notably the studio balked at showing Tank Girl's bedroom full of dildos, striking that scene from the script. A scene where Tank Girl gets tortured was but because at the end of it the studio felt Petty didn't look pretty enough. That brilliant musical sequence was disliked by the studio, and is both shorter than what Talalay filmed and doesn't include a number of her favorite shots. It's unfortunately hard to say how good the movie could have been, because of how much we'll never get to see because it wasn't allowed to happen or was just left on the cutting room floor.
And so Tank Girl flopped, and unlike what would have happened to a male director it killed Talalay's film career (she has fortunately continued to find work in television, including on genre favorites like Doctor Who and numerous shows on the CW). Tank Girl is almost an allegory for its own making. It's the story of a woman just trying to do some awesome shit and constantly being hindered by a patriarchal machine.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/13: But I'm A Cheerleader
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
The next film we're crossing off our collective list is this 1999 queer film about how stupid conversion therapy is. Join us next week for our discussion as we find out what all the fuss has been about! But I'm A Cheerleader is available for free on Vudu and for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 5/7: Under the Silver Lake
The current podcast edition on conspiracies in film concludes next week with the new Under the Silver Lake, a release unfairly buried by A24. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of the film, which is available for rent on Amazon Video and in the other usual places.
SADIE HAWKINS WEEK!
Tank Girl is based on the comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, but the film itself is largely the child of Rachel Talalay. While she worked closely with the creators during production, it was she alone who went to various studios and pitched the project, and she who fought for the creative team to be what it was. Among the talent she was able to line up for the project was Catherine Hardwicke as production designer, Malcolm McDowell as the villain Kesslee, and Stan Winston to do the animatronics (who cut his studio's usual rate in half to get to work on the film).
Unfortunately, as is all-too-commonly the case for women in Hollywood, Talalay was not trusted to bring her vision to fruition. She was constantly fighting with the studio over her film. She had to plot and scheme to get certain things - like Tank Girl's (Lori Petty) relationship with her mutant kangaroo boyfriend Booga (Jeff Kober) into the film. If the result feels a little disjointed and thrown together, that's because after Talaly handed it off, the studio cut it to ribbons.
Tank Girl herself (Lori Petty) is something of a Bugs Bunny figure. Anarchistic, anti-authority, and otherwise entirely unpredictable. The film's plot involves her seeking revenge against Water & Power, the company which "controls most of the water, and has all the power" in post-apocalyptic Australia. Through the film she repeatedly makes use of her sexuality to make the hapless men around her underestimate her and end up patsys, dead, or both. Which is something that could come across as some cliché femme fatale in the wrong hands, but here has an irrestistable manic energy and attitude that makes it feel like Tank Girl just knows no one can handle her and doesn't give a fuck.
But it is, unfortunately, also flawed and much of that has nothing to do with Talalay. Those animated sequences are fun, but they frequently replace scenes - including the ending - that the studio didn't like or that Talalay was unable to film - notably the studio balked at showing Tank Girl's bedroom full of dildos, striking that scene from the script. A scene where Tank Girl gets tortured was but because at the end of it the studio felt Petty didn't look pretty enough. That brilliant musical sequence was disliked by the studio, and is both shorter than what Talalay filmed and doesn't include a number of her favorite shots. It's unfortunately hard to say how good the movie could have been, because of how much we'll never get to see because it wasn't allowed to happen or was just left on the cutting room floor.
And so Tank Girl flopped, and unlike what would have happened to a male director it killed Talalay's film career (she has fortunately continued to find work in television, including on genre favorites like Doctor Who and numerous shows on the CW). Tank Girl is almost an allegory for its own making. It's the story of a woman just trying to do some awesome shit and constantly being hindered by a patriarchal machine.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/13: But I'm A Cheerleader
ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID WEEK!
The next film we're crossing off our collective list is this 1999 queer film about how stupid conversion therapy is. Join us next week for our discussion as we find out what all the fuss has been about! But I'm A Cheerleader is available for free on Vudu and for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 5/7: Under the Silver Lake
The current podcast edition on conspiracies in film concludes next week with the new Under the Silver Lake, a release unfairly buried by A24. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of the film, which is available for rent on Amazon Video and in the other usual places.