Grindhouse
Any time two or more people watch MTV’s Cribs there is the inevitable conversation about the things they would like to have in their dream home. For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to have my own theater. Since DVDs have been invented and everybody is getting there own enormous HDTV, I may one day get to subject my friends and family to my bizarrely varied taste in film. See, the thing is not only would I show the greats, but almost more importantly I’ve always wanted to have my own grindhouse. There are few things I enjoy more than sitting back with friends and having a few beers and reveling in a film like Switchblade Sisters. I completely wore out a VHS copy of Dolemite back before Snoop stole “izzle” and put the phrase “Fo’ shizzle my nizzle” on the lips of frat boys everywhere. So needless to say Grindhouse is right in my wheelhouse.
During there hey day in the seventies grindhouses used to show exploitation films generally in a double feature. Having a personal affection for these theaters and the films they used to show Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez set out to try and recreate that experience. Each director made a film and put it together with scratches, missing reels, and fake previews made by Eli Roth (Cabin Fever), Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) and Rob Zombie (The Devil’s Rejects). What you end up with is a wildly entertaining homage to some of the greatest bad films in movie history.
The first half is Rodriguez’s zombie gore fest, Planet Terror. It’s as much a recreation of classic gore films as it is a parody of them. To be honest, parody isn’t really an accurate description, it’s more of an acknowledgement. It’s not that he’s so much as making fun of these films, but he knows how they work and makes sure all the elements are there. From Rose McGowan’s tough one legged go-go dancer to the countless outlandish and bloody deaths, it’s all in here.
Now Tarantino’s film Death Proof is tonally a completely different movie. Instead of an army of zombies we have Stunt Man Mike, who may or may not actually be a stunt man, but does enjoy terrorizing gorgeous women. Unfortunately, he comes across a group of stuntwomen who are willing to go as far as he is to get revenge. Like Planet Terror, Death Proof is smart enough to know exactly what it’s doing, so early on you have your typically Tarantino style banter back and forth to sort of lull you to sleep before you get hit with an incredible car chase. As much as CGI helps film there are some things it just can’t do. If you have an explosion or any thing else where computer generated people are in danger, an audience just doesn’t care as much. Now, if you take a pretty girl and put her on the hood of a car and send here careening down the highway you have something.
A lot of people have been coming to me saying that they didn’t like Tarantino’s Death Proof as much as Rodriguez’s film. I think the problem isn’t with the film, but in the fact that it is the second part of the double feature. Not surprisingly Death Proof is a bit talky early on, but what do you expect from Tarantino? Unfortunately, it seems slow to actually have characters speak after having watched an hour and a half of zombies eating people and getting blown to bits. If you take out the dialog all you’re left with is a car chase. Mind you, it’s one kick ass car chase, but still that’s all there would be. Maybe the film may have been best served to have Death Proof as the first part of the double feature, but really it’s sort of like comparing Die Hard to Star Wars. Sure, there’s action in both but they don’t necessarily attract the same audience.
Personally, I love this film or films if you prefer. Don’t go in necessarily expecting a straight up recreation of the grindhouse experience, since there’s as much parody as there is homage. However, I honestly can’t think of a movie I’ve enjoyed seeing this much in a theater in a long time and until I have my own I’ll be happy enough to own Grindhouse and watch it with some beers and some friends on one of their enormous HDTVs.
The Grade
- Story: B+
- Acting: B+
- Visuals: A
- Originality: A
- Enjoyability: A+
- Overall: A
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