Tuesday, July 27, 2010

RAVE - The Extra Man

Deliciously weird. 

In fact, weirder than anything I've seen Kevin Kline in. He's usually just annoying, and his movies are a bit hit and miss. All except a Fish Called Wanda, and the the good bits weren't necessarily of his making.

KK is an impoverished New Yorker, living in a tiny, flea-infested flat, reduced to applying boot polish to his ankles because his socks are thread-bare.

He advertises for a room-mate to help cover his expenses. Enter, Paul Dano, another actor known for his weird looks and ways (remember him in There Will Be Blood?) 

Everyone was weird in that one, and I'm still having to pay for dragging Gareth and Amo to it. I thought it was great, but then .....

From the first meeting, when Kevin Kline's fruity bachelor interviews Paul Dano, to the closing tune - T.Rex singing "Dandy in the Underworld", this film is a intellectual riot.

My only other known reference to "Dandy In The Underworld" is the autobiography of Sebastian Horsley, an English weirdo who had himself crucified in the Philippines, just to see what it was like. Anyhow, I digress, mainly because he was an artificial weirdo, unlike Kline and Dano who seem to achieve it on autopilot.

Added to the general mayhem, we have John C. Reilly speaking in a hilarious high-pitched voice, 

Together, they escort elderly, rich women around New York. Hence, the "extra man" role.

And did I say it was weird? And funny?

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