Mojave Moon

"Mojave Moon" is a film fueled on the magic of a full moonlit night. It has a distinct, memorable and charming presence. I love this very feel of the film, but unfortunately it wares off as the movie tries to reinvent itself at the end. It shifts into a different mood, from a sweet romance into a wacky, cartoonish comedy.

Danny Aiello is a genuine actor, and his best work is in his little indie films like this. He plays a used carsalesman named Al, who is lost in a routine life. One day a beautiful free spirit (Angelina Jolie) serves as an outlet as he follows her into the Mojave Desert for a mysterious adventure.

The premise is almost identical to "Box of Moon Light", a far better film. Both films are about a person serving as a way out of the deadly foe of time. If only "Mojave Moon" centered itself more on the wonderful magic of the journey and the life-changing outcomes like "BOM", instead of becoming untrue to itself. (Ironically both main characters are named Al).

Many times movies that are determined to be off-the-wall wind up going splat! but this one works OK. Danny Aiello plays an ordinary Joe hanging out with his friends at a coffee shop when in walks a sexy young woman (Angelina Jolie) who may as well have a blinking neon sign around her neck saying TROUBLE! The boys put Danny up to flirting with her and amazingly, she responds. Obviously she wants something from this guy and that something is a ride to her home, a trailer out in the desert.

When they get there, things start to get weird. Mom (Anne Archer) is a breathy-voiced version of a 50's sitcom mother, and there's this incongruous, menacing biker (Michael Biehn) at the trailer with her. Who is this guy, a boyfriend? Houseguest? Husband? If he knows what's good for him, Danny should say goodbye and step on the gas, but he hangs around too long and gets involved with all sorts of madness and freaky characters.

Some people will reject this film out of hand as being too stupid or weird and others will say it doesn't go far enough. A group in the middle will find it nicely out of the ordinary and modestly entertaining. Aiello is rather subdued as befits a befuddled guy who's into something way over his head and Jolie is verrry sexy.

This is a very dry comedy that has a few good spots, few and far between.

It's a mild adventure, in the mode of old Hitchcock with a Monty Python twist. Unfortunately, forty minutes go by before anything more than a pleasant smile is evoked from the viewer.

A lot of this takes place in the Mojave, which is good, and at night, which gives us a "cool warm" feel.

The "everyman" character is very human, and most of the characters are very believable, believe it or not, which is surprising, considering their extreme behavior. Much of what happens has the feel of things that the people involved actually experienced. There is an element of realism in the fantasy.

The pace is "mojave moon", and maybe that explains the title. For the first 40 minutes, you will look at the clock, then the story unfolds. It perks up most with a very funny shootout at close range where no one can hit anything.

This "cool warm Mojave moon" feel is probably the heart of the movie, and probably what was really intended. If so, it works well. I've taken vacations to LA, Vegas, and Laughlin, and rented a car simply to drive through the desert, usually starting in LA, and the "cool Mojave" feel begins, at least for me, after the stop at the atmospheric ostrich farm cafe. From there on, it's the tranquility that this film seems to aim for.

This isn't a laugh riot. It isn't something you'll watch a lot, but it does have "atmosphere". I won't say I'm a fan of the film, but it has a good look, and is perfectly titled.

Al is divorced and he has moved from New York to Seattle to Los Angeles (I don't even know why Seattle was mentioned). He makes his living selling cars, though he seems to know some people who are ... less than honest.

While Al is eating at Johnie's restaurant with friends Sal and Terry, Elie walks in wearing a skirt so short it should be illegal. Al decides to talk to her and finds out she needs a ride to her mom Julie's place in the Mojave Desert. Al agrees to take her.

When they arrive at Julie's trailer (excuse me, 'movable house'), Julie's boyfriend Boyd is there watching TV. Boyd lights his cigarettes with a blowtorch and treats the gentle and sweet Julie like dirt. Elie goes to the Buffalo Chip Saloon to meet boyfriend Kaiser.

From there, things get weird. I mean REALLY weird.

This is a pretty good movie, with good performances by the leading actors. And plenty of plot twists. But what really makes the movie work is the crazy characters. Such as the tire repairman with the big guns. And then there is the time a man needs a cadaver and two guys hear this and are all too willing to help. One even pulls a gun on someone so the man can have his cadaver right away!

Boyd reminded me of Billy Bob Thornton, though maybe that's because I read about him in Life magazine the day I saw the movie. It would be interesting to see what he would have done with the role. Michael Biehn just made him a demented clown, but an entertaining one.

I have to mention the camera work with the introduction of Elie. They wanted to make sure we noticed her legs!

I wasn't sure whether this was a comedy at first, but by the second half I had to laugh.

I caught "Mojave Moon" several times on cable but I didn't care about it. I even came to IMDb back in the late 90's and nobody commented about it. It was somehow a rare, obscure independent movie that gained notoriety when Jolie received her first (and only) Oscar. I caught it on a so called art channel.

To be honest, it wasn't until Angelina Jolie made her on-screen appearance with the shortest mini skirt I've ever seen on movies! That girl was stunning.

Then I got hooked in by the plot although it is very strange.

The movie has the typical situations involving a trouble girl that gets everyone in problems and ends up making everybody fool.

To be honest, if it wasn't for Jolie's sexyiness this movie would be still hidden.