The fifth feature film from Bobcat Goldthwait follows Frank. (Joel Murray) A frustrated middle-aged man, who on losing his job and being
diagnosed with terminal cancer, is pushed to go on a killing spree. The
condition being that he'll only kill people that he believes deserve to die. He’s aided by
16 year old Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr) who shares his dissatisfaction with the
world.
It’s a controversial subject, the kind that Bobcat has
become known for throughout his career. The film’s fairly limited release seems
to have precluded it from any major press attention though, so maybe it’ll escape being blamed for any future high profile massacres.
Frank at often times seems to be a mouthpiece for Bobcat’s own
frustrations with the world. There’s a long scene at the beginning where
he talks of these things to a co-worker and it often sounds more like a ranty
article than a dialogue between two people.
The thing’s that get Frank so angry include American Idol or X
Factor type shows, MTV’s Sweet Sixteen, the abundance of social networking and iPhones,
right wing Fox News editorial anchors. Targets
that the kind of person who’d see this film will probably sympathize with Frank
in. (Well maybe not the iPhones) and of course these people become the targets
of Frank and Roxy’s killings. It’s a fun idea although if it’s really intended
as a satire and criticism of society, its targets are a bit shallow. The hosts and
viewers of American Idol are blamed, but not really the producers. Essentially Frank’s targets come down to just people who are rude and inconsiderate. Which
is still a good enough premise for a film, who doesn’t want to see teenagers
that talk on their phones during a movie getting shot? But it is a step short if it's hoping to make a truly pointed critique of modern society.
What helps carry the film though is the dynamic between Frank and
Roxy. The issue of a middle aged man being
friends with a 16 year old girl is handled very well. Frank flat out refuses to
take any sexual interest in her, despite her questioning of how he sees her, he
refuses to even comment. There’s a 'fuck you' given out to men who’ve married
very young women in which Woody Allen is singled out, which seemed surprising
to hear.
After a while the film starts to repeat itself. Bobcat has
responded to this criticism of his work, claiming that he wants to fully
explore the idea. This is valid up to a point, but after a while the film does
seem to lose its momentum. Thankfully the story manages to find a direction to
take it into the 3rd act, eventually building towards a suitable
climax.
Ultimately the strength of the film is in having something
that’s angry, dark and funny that also has a genuine heart to it. It’s not a
film about morality. Bobcat said rather astutely on a recent Comedy Bang Bang
episode that murder is justified in serious action films, because according to
some people’s morality those people deserved to die. But he doesn’t ever
believe murder is right. It goes without saying
that the murders performed by the two protagonists aren’t seen as moral by the film.
Their actions aren't justified, but it’s not a film about the morality of these actions.
It is worth seeing though, and it’s also worth looking up
Bobcat’s previous film, ‘World’s Greatest Dad.’ I can’t speak for the rest of
his work, but I’ll certainly be interested in seeing the rest of his output on
the strength of these two films.
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