The Woman Chaser

The Woman Chaser is a brilliant piece of faux film noir. Patrick Warburton deadpans his way through the title role, reminding one of Puddy with a serious Oedipal complex. Every time the smile was about to leave my face something else happened to bring it back. This is a very clever, engaging film which will be in my dvd collection when it comes out.

The only truly original film I've seen this year, The Woman Chaser takes its cue from its psycho-pulp origins and steeps itself in a brilliantly mordant mise-en-scene. Each shot bursts with ideas and mood, and Patrick Warburton is wonderful. The film is hilarious, and far enough off-center to truly appeal to those who get it. Those who like it will love it, and those who dislike it should probably look a little closer. Somehow simultaneously endearing, shocking and gritty, it's an insider's view of insanity, with all its delightfully f***ed-up characters painted affectionately by the director and his actors. Insightful and funny on the dregs of human behavior and in many ways a multi-layered riff on the nature of movies themselves - this is the one American film I would recommend over any other this year.

I first saw this movie in a theater, and I thought it was an amusing, if somewhat uneven film. I enjoyed Patrick Warburton's performance, but felt that the movie didn't hold together that well.

I was lucky enough to score a VHS copy recently, and I've watched the movie a few more times, and I've enjoyed it more each time.

Maybe it's because I have a better idea of what to expect. I find more humor in it, and am able to enjoy it more as the satire which I now think it was intended to be.

It's still odd and quirky, and the title really doesn't seem to fit the content of the movie very well (I read somewhere that it was originally supposed to be called "The Director", which would be more fitting), but it's fun to watch.

Plus, it's got a whole lot of shirtless Patrick Warburton, which is definitely a good thing!!

If you saw The Woman Chaser at the NY Film Fest or Sundance, take a second look. I saw it at SXSW in Austin, Tx this last Sunday night and I loved it. You've probably seen the reviews from previous film fests, but the version that played in Austin is not what the reviewers in NY or at Sundance saw. It was outstanding! I have not seen any version but this one, but from other reviews I know what at least one of the cuts was (good decision, by the way). I happen to really like a good bad guy and Warburton made a GREAT bad guy. Just see it. You'll understand. Oh, and if you're reading this Joe, it was great to see you! And yeah, I'm waiting for the director's cut DVD to come out...

I first heard of Charles Willeford when Miami Blues came out. I read that book & found it fantastic. I thought the movie of Miami Blues was a minor masterpiece. I began to work backwards in Willeford's novels & got to this one which I found, like much of his earliest work, very bizarre. A used car salesman who dances a ballet with his mother. This film has captured that quality perfectly, treating it with utmost respect & love & lots of very well-tempered humor. Every detail of this film works perfectly, the acting, lighting, music, quality of sound, even, or especially, the perfect pitch of B-movie voices. Less lethal than Jim Thompson, less schematic than James M. Cain, more resourceful than David Goodis, Charles Willeford now has had two well-deserved minor film masterpieces made of his work.