Art School Confidential
Directed by Terry Zwigoff
Written by Daniel Clowes
The writer and director team of the wonderful comic book adaptation Ghost World reunites for another dark, realistically comic look at eccentric characters in a world they don’t understand.
Misanthropic director Terry Zwigoff (Bad Santa, Crumb) loves dark, explicit humor. He also has an affection for comic books. Ghost World was a terrific movie that, while being another independent film laden with eccentric, misunderstood characters, pulled no punches in its depiction of small town America and the (mostly) pathetic inhabitants fillings these towns.
Art School Confidential strives to be another dark comedy with these same themes, but spirals off into a bizarre, misguided and very flawed ending. Clowes and Zwigoff’s target this time is art school and its pretentious denizens compiled of failed artist turned professors, wannabe “genius” students, and muses that inspire the work.
The first half of the film is amusing and smart. We meet Jerome Platz (Max Minghella, who’s appeared in Bee Season and Syriana). Jerome is a naturally gifted artist who wants nothing more than to go to art school. He goes to a college based on the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn (the college Clowes attended).
A lot of the humor in the first half is derived from the hilarious, and pathetic, art students who think they are the next greatest thing to hit the art world. Jerome’s roommates are hilarious: one’s an aspiring filmmaker (whom Zwigoff has said he based off of Troy Duffy, director of The Boondock Saints) played by Ethan Suplee who plans his first masterpiece and fills the room with an Apocalypse Now poster (little details like this are spot-on and funny). The other roommate is an obviously gay fashion designer who doesn’t think he’s gay.
It is amusing that Jerome is the most talented artist in his class, but the other students don’t like him because they don’t understand art. Other funny bits come from Jerome’s professor, played by the legendary John Malkovich. His Professor Sandiford tells Jerome that his work is too focused and he needs to branch out and experiment with his art, only to scold Jerome later on for being too out-there and distracted with no common theme. The students all receive a grade of “A” for their work, which is played out in a great scene.
The film spins out of control as Jerome alienates his classmates because they don’t like his work. It goes from a dark comedy to a ridiculous murder mystery. Once the film went down this route all was lost, and the story became inconsequential. Art School Confidential is funny at times, but it isn’t really telling us anything new about the art world.
HDFEST grading scale
-Art School Confidential-
Story C
Acting B+
Visuals B-
Originality B-
Enjoyability C
Overall Grade C+
DVD Extras C
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