Greaser's Palace

Dressed in a 1920s zoot suit, an amateur magician parachutes in an Old West town where he causes unrest by performing tricks that the locals believe are miracles in this decidedly weird western from Robert Downey Sr. Written as a deliberately anachronistic character, the protagonist here is intriguing; as his tricks involve healing the sick and walking on water, he is clearly modeled on Christ, yet with the way he dresses and lands in town, it is as if he has been sent from the future back to the Wild West. Whatever the case, Allan Arbus (of 'M*A*S*H' fame) is excellent in the lead role, remaining calm and collected throughout (turn the other cheek) and always very enthusiastic about performing - even when a card guessing trick terribly backfires. For a Christ-like figure, he is highly subverted, encouraging kindness and good will by getting those he comes across to applaud his acts and marvel at his showmanship. For all its ambition though, 'Greaser's Palace' remains a highly episodic motion picture, often coming across as a series of loose sketches than a plot-driven story - something that dulls the religious parable at hand and makes the overall experience a tad uneven. There are some great running gags in the mix too though, such as Arbus constantly bringing local black sheep Michael Sullivan back to life, much to the outcast's constant bewilderment.

Greaser's Palace is a comical, chaotic, absurdist and surreal religious parody. It's like El Topo meets The Life of Brian. Alan Arrbus plays a strange messiah-like zoot-suited actor/singer/dancer called Jessy, who one day parachutes into a field close to a Western town where a host of odd characters hang out, the main one being a constipated chap called Seaweedhead Greaser, who runs the titular saloon. Jessy has some miraculous traits - he can walk on water and heals some of the locals by telling them: "If you feel, you heal". One of the most memorable scenes (and my favourite) is when Jessy approaches a group of people praying and says to them: "I bring you a message. Exactly six miles north of Skagg Mountain in the Valley of Pain, there lives an evil devil-monster. His name is Bingo Gas Station Motel Cheeseburger With A Side Of Aircraft Noise And You'll Be Gary Indiana. And he loves to hurt people. The last time I saw Bingo Gas Station Motel Cheeseburger With A Side Of Aircraft Noise And You'll Be Gary Indiana, he told me what he wants to do. He wants to come down here and kill each and every one of you. But I said to him: 'Bingo, wait a minute!'. And the reason I said that is because I believe in you people. I believe you can do the job. I believe you can help each other. I believe you can make this world a better place to live in. That's it". 

If you haven't seen this film then it must go on your must-see list of films, category surrealism. Chaotic cineastes will approve.

I discovered Robert Downey Sr. fairly recently, given that, in all modesty, I consider myself rather well versed in cinema. I don't know what I expected, but certainly it wasn't what I got. Without question, this is the appeal of Robert Downey's work: its absolute unpredictability, its complete absurdity. He is not a genius of the cinema, but he's clever as can be, he's unrelenting in his satire, and he's highly original.

This quality — originality, uniqueness; call it what you like — means a great deal to me. I've seen so much cinema, from the late 1800s to the present, from America to Japan and everything in between, that I very rarely stumble across something that is a truly novel viewing experience. The three amateur films that began his career as a filmmaker — "Babo 73", "Chafed Elbows", and "No More Excuses" — were the first experiences I had with Downey, and I was pretty instantly enamored with him. The films aren't masterpieces. In fact, they're far from it. They're filled with flaws and shortcomings, but also with moments of fantastic off-the-wall humor and scathing satire. More than anything, they're almost completely unique. I was reminded very slightly of a few of Godard's films with the Dziga Vertov Group from the early '70s, like "Wind From the East" and "Vladimir and Rosa", and a bit more of Scorsese's early short films, but otherwise I can't really recall any films that came to mind as being similar to these remarkable bundles of absurdist energy.

I next saw "Putney Swope", Downey's first professional film, if I'm not mistaken. It was very similar to its predecessors, only much more polished and professionally executed. Two films later, in 1972, Downey came out with "Greaser's Palace".

The first thing I noted about this film was the change to color. Aside from that, however, the cinematography is very similar to "Putney Swope", utilizing a realist style with hand-held camera-work and so forth. Downey's basic sense of humor is present, but on the whole, "Greaser's Palace" is a very different film from the other four Downey films I've seen. It's much more toned down, and the general mood of the film diverges significantly from what we're used to. Downey deviates somewhat from his usual absurdist farce and buffoonery (although he definitely doesn't dispense with it entirely), replacing it instead with something more quiet and understated, by comparison to his other films, that is. For the first time in any of his films that I've seen, there are moments in "Greaser's Palace" that actually appear to be intended to be taken seriously, at least to some extent. The final shot of the film is absolutely stunning, both beautiful and disturbing on a visceral level. It's truly a very strange film, and while it doesn't all together work, it has its moments.

"Greaser's Palace" is an allegorical film, a parable of the life of Christ. Downey clearly doesn't subscribe to any specific political beliefs or ideologies, and has said so himself. These aren't left-wing films with a social message; they're just raw satire for its own sake. When all is said and done, the primary function of Downey's films is to be enjoyed. It's comedy for comedy's sake. If, however, there was ever a Robert Downey film that felt like it was intended to mean something, this is that film. Religious satire has always been present in Downey's films, but until now it had always been overwhelmed by the much more dominant political satire in his films. In "Greaser's Palace", though, the religious satire is the core of the film. The allegory is extremely thinly veiled, comically so, and Downey pulls no punches.

For instance, I recall three figures standing together in a field near the end of the film. One is a younger man who refers to the older man next to him as his father. The third figure is a man covered in a white sheet, with two holes cut out where the eyes might be. These three not-so-mysterious figures are, of course, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is Downey's idea of humor. Whether it's funny or not will depend very much on the viewer. While the symbolism and metaphor are far from brilliant, I've found that there is more than enough humor to be found in his irreverence alone. His blatant lack of respect for religion and politics, I believe, has worked to wonderful comedic effect in his films.

I thought "Greaser's Palace" was a mess for the bulk of the viewing, and it probably is the worst of the five films I've seen by Downey — certainly the most flawed — but in its own way it may also be the most interesting. The usual frenetic pace of Downey's comedy is melted into something closer to deadpan humor at times, and by the end of the film I must say that I was vaguely interested. I haven't made a great deal of effort to interpret the symbolism and the allegory, and the specifics of what exactly Downey was trying to say, because ultimately I feel like I'd be left with what I already know: Downey never really tries to say much of anything. He simply makes fun of everything. And here he takes great pleasure in ridiculing religion on every imaginable level.

Is "Greaser's Palace" a good film? I don't think so. But it's interesting, at least in part, and while I think it fails on the whole, I won't say that I wasn't engaged by it for certain moments, particularly towards the end of the film. I found that it had much more impact on me than I could logically or rationally account for. Give it a shot, and see what you think. A film this original and unique earns some respect on those merits alone.

RATING: 5.67 out of 10 stars

I saw this movie after midnight on a movie-channel, in a dark room. I really wasn't expecting much but somehow this strange and surreal film has a mood to it that very few movies have. Don't try to make sense of it ( I don't know if there is any ) Just relax, and take it in, and you'll see what I mean.

Nothing in this movie is spelled out. It is a mystery. It's very funny, and it just leaves you with a feeling of having seen something very important and meaningful about life and death, but you're not sure what...

My favourite spot in the movie is when "our" man is asked to give something to the followers, upon which he starts to hum a continuous tone. The "disiples" soon catches on and sings the tone to. He then leaves them, and they dare not stop this gift they have been given. Throughout the rest of the movie you can always hear them in the background or nearby, off camera, as the movie goes on with other things!

And the closing scene with the setting sun, and the music/sound just had me mesmerized!

I saw it only once, in 1986, and even today I often think about it. I wish I could buy it, but I haven't seen it anywhere. I really want to see it one more time.

A MUST see !

Jesus comes back to the old west as a 1930's song-and-dance man in a zoot suit and takes on local strongman Mr. Greaser, whose struggles with constipation are painful to witness. I love this film. It will never be selected as entertainment for anyone's church youth group, but its fresh take on Christianity make for a wild and very original ride.

Favorite moments: Lamey Homo protesting his dad, Mr. Greaser's, disciplinary methods, "I dreamed I was swimmin' in a rainbow and there was millions of babies and they was naked...Dad? I don't want to die any more." Dad's response: "Then behave yourself!" Sibling rivalry on the part of the Holy Ghost protesting God the Father's refusal to let him take on some of God the Son's perks (like being crucified): "You'll never know what I can do because you never give me a chance!" Jesus healing the paralyzed man, who is seen later in the film crying, "I can crawl again! I can crawl again!"

It took me a moment to identify which character was supposed to be Judas, until the woman settler, who goes through so many terrible disasters, began counting out thirty pieces of silverware.

It is somewhat disjointed, and definitely sacrilegious in spots, but those drawbacks are very minor. This is an original, savagely funny film.