Storytelling

Probably Director Todd Solondz' most mature work to date, Storytelling is split into two parts `Fiction' and `Non-Fiction' - yet similar themes underlie both and pose questions about what we call reality when it comes to prejudice and taboo subjects. Whilst in previous attempts (such as `Happiness') Solondz' work has merely been controversial, in this film he berates political correctness more accurately and more entertainingly. It exposes ridiculous attitudes in the name of political correctness, whether it is the student with an awful essay who almost escapes criticism because he has cerebral palsy, or a black teacher who gets away with being a pervert because his victim doesn't want to entertain thoughts of racism. Nothing is sacred: Jews and the Holocaust also come in for merciless examination. But part of the film involves the story of a `documentary' being made within the main story, by an exploitative screwed up filmmaker who wants to do his own thing in the name of art, so in this sense, Storytelling even turns on itself and questions the validity of using the subject matter that it does. A controversial, worthy, and very entertaining film that stretches your ability to make moral judgements within a convincingly coherent framework.

Another completely original, dark, deeply skewered and audacious commentary on society from Todd S., whom we've come to depend upon for this sort of thing. Not as focused as Dollhouse or as filled-out as Happiness, Storytelling does seem sparse, and that's one of the things I like best about it (I've seen it 4 times now)- how T.S. didn't feel the need to conform to what the majority of film goers (even his OWN crowd!) expect when they enter a theatre.

It's divided into two parts - Fiction, with its heavy sexual, presumably-racist and ironic elements, a searing affair that many people seem to have found offensive without getting the underlying satire, and then there's Non-Fiction; amazing how much spot-on societal jabs T. S. squeezes into this one, and plus it has another great, multi-layered performance from Paul Giamatti, always a major selling point of any film, for me.

The bottom line: I believe T.S. deserves credit for his audacity alone, his unwillingness to compromise his vision, however unacceptable it might be. Or he might be consciously tailoring his vision toward the unacceptable, sort of like Andy Kaufman did - getting off on just making people react, shaking them out of indifference. Or maybe, like some people have suggested, he's run out of ideas (or he peaked with Dollhouse) and he's just rehashing the same stuff, hoping nobody will notice. Or maybe he WANTS us to notice, maybe it's a cry for help, in which case I would recommend a writing class, but NOT one that has Robert Wisdom as the professor.

While I did find this film pretty interesting it still seems to be lacking something compared to his previous two efforts. It doesn't have the emotional impact of "Welcome to the Dollhouse" or the sharpness and coherency of "Happiness" and both of those films each had a standout performance in them and this one does not, although Selma Blair is pretty good. The two parts "Fiction" and "Non-fiction" just seem to be missing some element. Its not that we don't understand what he's doing and what he's trying to say but it just doesn't have the closure that seems to be needed. The first part "Fiction" is shorter and just seems to end without allowing what it had just conjured up to play out. I do like Todd Solondz and the way he writes his films in general. He possesses a very dark and cynical view of both political correctness and the suburbs. I also think it was important for Selma Blair to be in this film. Her career seemed to be playing the stars friend or appearing in teen comedies. Here she plays a lead role and a somewhat controversial one at that in what might be her first nude scenes. I think its good for her career to be in something serious like this. I know I'll think of her in a different light from now on. Not anywhere near Solondz best films but interesting enough to recommend and anyone who likes Solondz (like myself) should see it.

"Storytelling" is interesting, dramatically effective and well-acted. It just left me wanting more. Those who were heavily turned off by Solondz's last effort, "Happiness," (a film I still regard as brilliant) might not be as turned off by "Storytelling." Other than an explicit anal sex scene (which is blocked off by a cheesy red box in the R-rated version), the material is quite innocuous. But "Happiness" not only had a provocative edge; it also had closure. It didn't leave any loose ends, having the audience wonder, "What's next?" This movie has Solondz's provocative edge, but it needs closure.

The characters and situations are colorful. I've always loved the director's use of brutal honesty in telling stories of otherwise straitlaced white collar suburbanites with skeletons in their closets. His films possess a unique realism that we almost never see in today's movies.

Selma Blair gives her best performance up to date, her first character role. There's a greatly powerful scene in which she's taunted, by her fellow classmates, about her short story which was based on a true situation between her and her tough-as-nails professor. John Goodman is terrific as the strict, suburban dad who simply wants his family to be normal. Leo Fitzpatrick is great as Blair's lonely boyfriend with a speech impediment. After seeing him in that awful movie, "Kids," it was great to see him in a decent role in a halfway decent movie. I'm guessing he really does have a speech impediment. The little boy got annoying at times. Though I know it was part of his character, there were times where I just wanted to put my foot through the TV when he would go on rambling. And the underrated Paul Giamatti delivers a fine, low-key performance as a geeky documentary filmmaker.

I wouldn't say this movie is anywhere near terrible, and I still look forward to Todd Solondz's next film, but it just needed more. It would've made a great television pilot, but for a film it would need a stronger narrative. In the second story, "Nonfiction," we get to know a fair deal about these characters, their backgrounds and their aftermaths. However, in the first story, "Fiction," I felt there could've been a lot more background to the characters and what happened after Vi's dreams were crushed after her fellow students gave their hypocritical opinions on her short story? As I said before, it's an interesting film, but not altogether satisfying.

My score: 6 (out of 10)

Todd Solondz has a rare skill. He can find humor in the darkest, most depressing subject matter. In Storytelling, he answers his own critics who tell him that certain subjects should be treated with kid gloves and not made fun of. In this film, he makes fun of disabilities, race, death...all the good stuff.

The first 30 minutes of the film focus on a creative writing student (Selma Blair) who's having a hard time finding inspiration. After breaking up with her disabled boyfriend, she had a fling with her African American professor and uses the experience as a basis for her next story.

The rest of the film is about a failed actor (Paul Giametti) turned documentarian who decides to make a high school slacker and his family the focus of his next project. It becomes obvious that the documentarian is the stand in for Solondz himself and he gets to answer the critics who call his work mean spirited or like a freak show where he's making fun of his subjects.

In classic Solondz tradition, there are tons of moments you'll feel bad for laughing at, but you won't feel too bad, because this is one of his best works and it's not as if he's not telling the truth.