Such a frustrating disappointment

Great Film overall

Don't Believe the Hype

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Cecil B. DeMented (2000)* 1/2 (out of 4) John Waters has a very clear message here but it's the perfect example of a director having something to say but not a good way of saying it. In the film, the twisted, underground director Cecil B. DeMented (Stephen Dorff) and he teenage filmmakers kidnap A-list actress Honey Whitlock (Melanie Griffith) and force her to appear in their film. What's the subject of their film? That Hollywood is pure evil and the only good cinema is the independent movie. If Waters' wanted to give people a message that independent cinema is better than Hollywood then he really should have came up with a better screenplay because as it stands there really aren't too many Hollywood comedies that are worse than this low-budget movie. Again, I understand what Waters was going for but the film is a complete disaster that doesn't have a single laugh in it. There are a couple good things with one of them being Griffith who gives it her all even when the screenplay isn't giving her much to do. The second thing the film has going for it is the fact that it never really gets boring no matter how unfunny it is. With that said, for the most part the film is a complete misfire with one unfunny sequence after another. This "terrorist" group basically go out and film themselves mistreating those things they most object to. This includes malls that show movies, family friendly groups and of course the evil big-budget sequels. Again, the message is clear but the way it's presented is just so poorly done that you can't help but roll your eyes at everything being done. Even worse is the fact that I never could understand why these anti-Hollywood people would want an A-list actress in their film. Waters clearly has a talent but it's certainly not on display here.

Has Waters succeeded in his quest to finally make a good movie? The answer is a predictable and resounding "no".And don't you fall into the trap that he doesn't want to make a "conventional" high-quality movie. Like all outcasts and misfits (I'm not referring to his homosexuality, all you "Homophobia" PC Police spies) he only PRETENDS to revel in making garbage. (Garbage is all he CAN do, so what choice does he have?) Secretly, deep inside him, there is a lonely, ambitious, and quite normal boy who wants to be just as good as Kubrick, Fincher or the Coens. Alas, when you lack even the minimum amount of talent required...So, knowing that he can't match any of the masters - not even enough to get one of his fingers on the Hollywood Walk Of Infamy - he indulges in being the "rebel". Many misfits go the rebel route: whether it be punk music, hippy crap, or "maverick" cinema. Anything to get attention.("Maverick cinema": the area of movie la-la land often inhabited by lesser talents who scream for attention by being "outrageous" because no-one would notice them if they placed their unskilled hands at something worthwhile.) A largely crap cast in a badly written and even more badly directed crap film. It's John Waters, that untalented (and pretending to be proud of it) indie director, so it's no shock.ONCE AGAIN Waters tries his clumsy hand at satire, a genre which he neither understands nor is capable of doing in his wildest dreams. Satire is at its best when it's subtle, not to mention clever - and not to mention funny, but Waters once again takes a stab at it with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.His attack on mainstream Hollywood is to an extent in order - but look where it's coming from: from the gay/transvestite/indie/porn/trash-for-the-sake-of-it scene which totally overestimates itself while ignoring the obvious fact that while Hollywood does turn out big amounts of filmic garbage every year, it also produces a couple of gems now and then.Waters ridiculing Hollywood is a bit like Ted Bundy complaining that Hitler was a genocidal psychopath.What about the indie scene? (And I mean the very low-budget type.) While a lot of its movies are watchable, very rarely do they come up with a great film, and in spite of the fact that hundreds, even 1000s, are being dumped into the internet and seedy cinemas every year. Most of these movies delve in clichés, trite PC characters, and most of them are about meaningless relationships between very boring people and their uneventful environments.Don't get me wrong: I'm not anti-gay, and I even find Waters likable as a person, i.e. the way he presents himself in interviews, but affability is a very long way away from making him a great director.To see just how pathetic Waters's taste in movies is, he shows us by the way of tattoos of various directors on the arms of the "cinema terrorists" who kidnap Griffith (all supposedly representing the true independent directors through the ages): Spike Lee, Sam Fuller, Otto Preminger, Passolini, and a few others. What a sad bunch. Not a single one of these dolts belongs on the directorial Olymp, and - obviously/predictably - some of them have to be gay. Kubrick's greatest mistake was not being gay, otherwise he too wouild have had the honour/privilege of being featured as a tattoo on one of Waters's retarded "terrorists".You wouldn't expect Waters to worship Kubrick, Scorsese, or Fincher, now would you. Waters makes fun of "Patch Adams" and "Forrest Gump", which is to be encouraged, but these are easy targets to ridicule, and he does so in an inept, dull manner. Besides, the alternative he offers us - though quite different - isn't any better: just look at his movies! Waters hasn't made a single mediocre movie yet, and I mean that in the reverse sense, of course: he has yet to RISE to the "elusive heights" of mediocrity, for even that seems like an unattainable goal for him. His films are plain AWFUL.The gags are dumb, the humour is beyond "America Pie"-level. The acting is manic, amateurish, and well... wateresque. Another "water constant" is that all his flicks start off bad, and then get progressively worse. The script seems to melt away as the time passes in a Waters movie; things get even unfunnier, even dumber, and even more manic. If you enjoy French banana-peel comedy, you might disagree...The cast is "blah": Griffith, Dorff, Witt. I can understand why unknown actors would snatch a chance to appear in a Waters film (i.e. any film), but there is no excuse for any of the more or less established faces to appear here: every single actor who says "yes" to starring in a Waters movie is a complete and utter moron - no "ifs" and "buts" about it. Did they actually think they were improving their CVs by working with "yet another master"? How clueless can you get...

John Waters continues his trashing of "traditional" Americanism with the raucous "Cecil B. DeMented", in which an indie filmmaker (Stephen Dorff) kidnaps an air-head actress (Melanie Griffith) and makes her star in his anti-Hollywood flick in which they go around attacking anything associated with Tinseltown - especially family-oriented stuff. And the best part: he's working with a budget of zero! It's like the Patty Hearst story taken one step further (Ms. Hearst even appears in the movie).This seems like the sort of movie that had probably been in the works for years. Regardless of anyone's opinion of "Forrest Gump" and "Patch Adams", we can likely agree that they don't need to get extended. A really funny, great movie. Also starring Mink Stole and Kevin Nealon.Choosing the "Flintstones" sequel over a Pasolini movie. I bet that some people would do that.

It's not for the average movie fan. Cecil B. Demented is full of hidden clichés and retro-references that appeals to the warped viewer. The viewer who only sees movies with their 'significant other' will not appreciate this artistic production. The characters are almost toonish, but yet they are real. They are people you may have known, or at least viewed on the internet..eh. The colors are vivid as is the imagination. Waters leaves you wondering what he can think of next! Honey Whitlock is seductive, mature and yet willing and submissive to the abductor's plot. This does bring up memories of the Patricia Hearst kidnapping which appropriately she is in the movie. Hearst plays the role of Fidget's mother. And most of us guys can relate to Fidget. If you are a fan of underground movies, you will love this one!! Be careful who you refer this movie to, or they may put you in their prayers! It could polarize your next family get-together!