Reviews: Surrogates & Jennifer's Body

Body Hatchers

Today, it seems that whenever Bruce Willis appears in a film, the barometer to use in gauging how much one likes the film is the use of his hair. Willis's hair seems to be always a curious case, and it really can't be decided which look is better for him. What does seem to be the case is that those films which showcases his clean shaven scalp seem to do better at the box office and score mostly high marks with the critics (i.e. Live Free or Die Hard and What Happened?). But, when he's forced into wearing an off-putting rug or even growing his own, the films tend to be duds (A Perfect Stranger, 16 Blocks, Alpha Dog, and others, though Sin City is an exception). Here we get the best of both worlds in a film that isn't without its flaws but is actually an interesting premise to digest.

Based on a graphic novel, the film finds a familiar sci-fi setup. In the future, a corporation has created lifelike avatars that have now semi-permanently replaced all human interaction. Willis plays a detective who, along with his partner Rhada Mitchell, investigates the destruction of two surrogate robots that also resulted in the deaths of their operators. His probing leads to an underground human resistance, led by a dreadlocked Ving Rhames, a super powerful weapon, and a philosophical exploration on humanity.

That last part is something that has been seen in other science fiction films, but I always consider it an interesting proposition. The ideas behind the film are continually stimulating, and it is interesting how director Jonathan Mostow plays off those ideas. He allows the surrogates to appear in a slicked up, almost plastic manor in their buffed skins and lifeless eyes in a way that feels convincing, while doing the opposite physique of the actual humans. Mostow does a lot better job at hinting at bigger ideas than he did with the third Terminator installment. Although his action scenes don't stack up quite as well as some did in Terminator 3, one can still get a good enough sense of sequences that are well staged and admire their intentions. But this film's strong suit is its ideas.

Unfortunately, those ideas aren't always translated will by the script. Writers Michael Ferris and John Brancato feel rather lazy in their efforts to explain the plot in huge, painstakingly long monologues that spell out key plot events as if an audience couldn't figure it out on its own. The last act in particular, when everything has to fall in place, is really a drag and the final reveal seems a bit much and overindulges on a not-so-subtle hint of our current humanity.

I actually think Willis is quite good in a duel role here, even though he's cashing in his usual deadpan deliveries crossed with his mean stare. With all that, Willis is still an actor that brings energy to the screen (most of the time), and it's quite easy for the detective story to unfold and the dissecting journey to begin. Other players like Mitchell, Rhames, James Cromwell as the shadowy creator of the robots and Rosmunde Pike as Willis's wife do enough to hold their scenes in order to not bring the movie down but also not make the film anymore better by their participation. Except for Jack Noseworthy. I don't know why, but his presence always seems to light up a room in whatever film he's in, no matter how small the role. It's nothing major, but just something to be said.

The film has many seeds that could have grown into a really thought provoking film that also entertained on a sizable level. Some of those things are there in the premise and some action sequences. However, most of the movie is territory that we've already seen before and its been executed in better ways. The script is weak, the acting is passable but at least the direction seems solid enough. I can't fully recommend this film, but I think that if it ever passes your Netflix queue, you might find something of solace within a somewhat empty framework. But when it's over, there might be more of a disappointment than surprise. **1/2 / ****; GRADE: C+

Soul Food

The story of Diablo Cody could pretty much be separated into two contrasting descriptions. For those who admire Cody, she's the embodiment of the Cinderella story: a girl who wasn't born into the business but broke-out on her own with a witty script that caused all of America to fall in love with her plucky attitude. With all that, she even garnered an Academy Award and receiving vindication at such an early stage. Those who aren't fans relate her as a self-conscious, self-referential hipster whose dialogue feels like it's force fed indie quirk pulled the wool over the eyes of those who are less intellectual than the ones who liked There Will Be Blood. Then she took an Oscar without having to pay the dues of many other talented writers who have yet to receive such an honor. Cody's a polarizing figure indeed, but that shouldn't stop anyone from disliking her latest effort.

The Jennifer, as we all know by now, is the very attractive Megan Fox in one of those simple, generic, small Midwestern towns. Jennifer is the "it" girl at school, and her best friend is Needy (Amanda Seyfried), the geeky girl that still has no trouble having a boyfriend in Chip (Johnny Simmons). Jennifer and Needy are inseparable as friends and attend a small concert at the town's bar, whose lead singer is Adam Brody. But a fire at the bar confuses the two, and Jennifer is led to the band's van and they drive off. The next day, Jennifer arrives seeming much different. Her personality is always upbeat, she isn't always looking glowingly pretty, and she's possessed by a demon that needs to feed on flesh to survive.

I admit that I had some problems with Juno, but it was mainly that first twenty minutes when the dialogue tried too hard to be quirky and original. After that, the tone was brought down and that, plus Ellen Page's performance, saved it. Now if you take that first twenty minutes and make it an entire film, then you have Cody's screenplay to this film. There's no longer a sharp edge because the script is trying to cover several bases at the same time. It wants to mock horror films, teenage soaps, hormone manipulated relationships, and even indie, Emo rock bands. All good subjects, but not congeal well within the story, and the humor meanders without any consistency. When an intelligence level can't be reached, Cody reverts back to that hipster language that gets tiresome rather quickly.

Many have noticed a trend in which male writers are creating interesting stories for men to interact with one another but have been shallowing on providing the same level of sophistication for their women characters. This is true, but Cody is also guilty of the opposite. Her female characters are more complex, or have the possibility to be more complex, than their male counterparts. Michael Cera was almost treated as an afterthought, and all the boys in this film can be manipulated by the very mention of that three lettered word. There isn't a lot of confidence in the male characters here, and it allows the screenplay to cater to the female audience, and even that doesn't deliver enough.

As much as there are faults in the screenplay, the aimless direction by Karyn Kusama is not helping the case either. In short, it's completely flat and almost uninterested in its subjects. The pace is never set to a regular beat, and the sequences that call for action in particular are poorly staged. That fire at the bar is so badly shot and covered, that is feels like a fantasy sequence. That is true for most parts of the film. Kusama can get in a good suspense scene every now and again, but by the time the seventeenth false reveal shows up, our nerves do not become racked so easily.

Now I don't know what can be said of Megan Fox that hasn't already been said. She's very attractive; we get it. But it seems like the movie either doesn't or believes its audience is too stupid to get it. Every scene is a showcase of Fox's beauty, but never once her talent as an actress, if she even has any. She never makes Jennifer an appealing character, even one on a villainous vixen level. Seyfried also gives some charm, and she's quite a good actress (I adore her on Big Love). But most of the time she' just meant to be the kind protagonist and a foil for the evil Jennifer, who by the way, when it comes to be much talked about same-sex kiss between the two, acts completely out of character in a moment that is only meant to bring in the guys. Brody and an oddly placed J.K. Simmons score some laughs, but their jokes wear thin as well. The only redeeming character here is Chip. He's the only one who seems written for another movie, and thus the only one we can really relate to. Simmons isn't really out of place, but he's more like the only voice of reason in a film that isn't smart enough to self parody. He's literally the only likable character, and I wish there was more of him here.

I try to mix a little of both of those origin stories when I think of Diablo Cody, but all of that doesn't matter with this film. It's sloppy, poorly crafted, mediocrely acted and feels completely false. One or two good characters and a couple of frights are certainly nowhere near enough to like a movie. One might say it's enough to dislike it, and I'd agree. Another Cody creation deals with another catastrophic personality, but it actually manages to find people who seem relatable, and no matter how outrageous their problems grow, it always seems like their tethered to the ground. Showtime's The United States of Tara is a great example of that. This is not. ** / ****; GRADE: C