The Naked Man

Quirky? You bet. This surreal tale of a man torn between two worlds is populated with supporting characters from both sides of the rainbow. The dialogue, the pacing, even the camera angles scream "Sit up straight for an evening of romance, revenge, and spinal integrity."

This movie is more than just a film co-written by Ethan Coen (of the Coen brother fame). And if your expecting a Coen brother movie, its different but it does have some familiar ties to films made by the Coen brothers. What else would you expect from Director J.T Anderson who has been the storyboard artist on almost all of the Coen brothers projects, and J.T's characters are every bit as interesting as any created by his co-writer and his brother. This movie lives on the dynamics between its characters, and of course great photography by Jeff Barklage. (I think every Coen brother film has had great photography that pushes the story and the characters.) But enough about Coens. This is a fun film and a good film, and I cannot understand why OCTOBER and UNIVERSAL did not release this sucker.

One half of the Coen Brothers has co-written one of the weirdest and most intelligent comedies I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. Underrated actor, Michael Rappaport excellently portrays the inscrutable chiropractor/wrestler of which the title refers. The Naked Man features wonderfully quirky performances, equally quirky dialogue and a storyline just strange enough to keep anyone interested. Fans of David Lynch or John Waters, don't miss this!

Of course, this isn't a Coen brothers film, but it does have a strong connection to their films with Ethan Coen contributing to the script (but not producing) and with the Coen's storyboard artist J. Todd Anderson directing and also co-writing. As to be expected, it's not as good as a full Coen brothers effort, but worth a look for anyone who is a fan of the Coens (as I am).

That said, it's not a great movie. It does have a pretty funny central concept, but to me, it never seemed to completely get off the ground. J. Todd Anderson directs the film in a similar style to Joel Coen, but he isn't near as good as writing funny dialog. There is some stuff here that people with a weird sense of humor (like me) will appreciate, but mostly the film is meandering and pointless.

Definately not on the same level as the Coen brothers' classics, but worth seeing for anyone who likes the Coens, or weird comedies in general.

Was unaware of this, and believe me as much as I love movies, I feel no shame about that. However, this is a must-see for those of us who crave escape into silliness occasionally. The Naked Man is the wrestling moniker of a mild mannered chiropractor with a brutal, but golden touch played by Michael Rappaport, Brooklyn's answer to Gary Busey. All he seeks in life is reunion with his father, a stern pharmacist and believer in pills, and to be a provider to his "best girl" and soon-to-be-born son. However, chilling tragedy strikes in a hilarious Ethan Coen way which sends our back stretcher on a wild mission of revenge in his wrestling persona aided by Delores, a biker babe liberally pierced. Their targets are Sticks Verona, a drug kingpin played by an always funny Michael Jeter, and his driver of the huge semi that he lives in, an Elvis clone who lives on peanut butter sandwiches with bacon. Also, the jewel in the cast, a chain smoking detective wearing a six month shirt and a raincoat that even Columbo would Goodwill, is played by that unique actor Joe Grifasi. There is a long, dialogue-free, classic scene of the beginning of his day that is a gem. Half a load on will get you through the awful parts to the good stuff which is inspired. Shameless fun.