Strong and Moving!

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

I watched my first pure Netflix fiction film, as opposed to documentary, and it was not good. I was going to watch In The Mood For Love, by Wong Kar-wai, but the picture could not include all of the subtitles at the bottom. The same was true with Masaki Kobayashi's Samurai Rebellion, but that, too, had issues with the framing out of subtitles. Reported both problems, so that dampened the mood for foreign films. Then I came across a 2006 comedy and drama called Color Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story, which is about the noted 1990s impersonator of Stanley Kubrick- a gay man who used Kubrick's own hermitry to his advantage, since few knew what the real Kubrick looked like. People may recall when New York Times drama critic, Frank Rich, wrote of his encounter with the imposter, Alan Conway, at a restaurant. This chance meeting led to Conway's eventual downfall and exposure, and was one of the seminal events in what might be termed the 'Modern Celebrity Crazy Fan Age' which includes stalkers and impersonators. As mild as my renown is, restricted to online arts and film venues, even I've had stalkers and impersonators. But, whereas some celebrities ended up being killed by their pursuers, Conway never sought Kubrick, only to use his name to his own advantage; an idea which fascinated Kubrick, according to reports. It was even rumored that Kubrick considered a screenplay on his own impersonator, but both Conway and Kubrick died before anything could come of it.

This is an interesting film, if for no other reason for the talent of Malkovich. His performance is a study of excellent acting: He is so good as a reckless alcoholic pulling off acts of incredible chutzpah that the viewer literally cringes and winches in fear of his becoming exposed. Its not long into the movie that I was completely accepting of the lead character's complete asocial pathology. I accepted such for what it was - without any hope of redemption, rehabilitation or remorse! The problem with the film is that since the character soon becomes so one dimensional, the scenes just flow as episode after episode in a manner, way, etc., that makes one long for some personal epiphany, crisis, etc. This flick would have played well as tongue-in-cheek biography with a heavy dose of comedy, much like the films about; e.g., Ed Wood, Larry Flynt, etc. The movie might have been bettor with some modest introduction to the lead character, allowing some empathy.

Lovingly created by two of master director Stanley Kubrick's former assistants, this fractured homage to his psychopathic imitator serves only as a mild distraction against the more frivolous and unnecessary repetition that robs the film of it's potential charm and inherent cult status. Director Brian W. Cook and writer Anthony Frewin's obvious affinity to the iconic British filmmaker, assisting on a few of the legend's more successful shoots, presents this unique, but ultimately irrelevant comedy that in it's warped way pays homage to Kubrick by tracing some of the insane steps one Alan Conway underwent in order to continue his diluted assumption that he was in fact, the genius movie titan.While certainly a fun enough premise that should seem increasingly apparent to film buffs, Color Me Kubrick is simply too shallow of an affair to remain anything more then an absorbed and indulgent piece of acting by our lead, the hammy John Malkovich. It is in the excess artsy-ness of Malkovich's repeated ranting and chanting that any focus the slightly disturbing concept holds falls hopelessly by the wayside of egotistical posturing with little to no redeeming psychological qualities. Instead of a fascinating, colorful character study that could have simultaneously addressed issues of alienation and identity while entertaining insider crowds with the delightful scenarios, all too quickly becomes a cheap exercise in Malkovich's continually cheapened theatrics, changing his character's persona and accent as many times as he must have thought viewers would find it clever. It is not. Instead the empty scenes often wallow in a shameless, vacant sort of charisma, masking behind this character's apparent intelligence and wit.There are a few memorable moments, but primarily the pacing, script and performances all point in a direction that will help dismantle anything good that the movie has going for it with a heavy promotion of style over substance. Malkovich will always remain an assured performer, though as the years go by the arrogance in defining his line deliveries have become increasingly apparent, culminating in this shoddy character study.

I went to this picture with the hope that -- if nothing else -- watching John Malkovich play a highly troubled delusional queen with a genius for manipulation and an obscene fashion sense would be enough to keep me entertained for an hour and change. It wasn't.The flick's barely worth analyzing; it's simply a mess, handled so poorly that Malkovich's moments of comic mastery are lost in a sea of poorly executed photography, tepid writing and haphazard form. While director/prod Brian Cook was one of Kubrick's assistant directors we see that little to no talent ever rubbed off - things get so bad that one clings to the often forced and clumsy musical/visual homage's to the genius' work to at least quell that nagging voice that won't stop whispering "you spent eleven dollars on this...you spend eleven dollars on this..."To say nothing about the quality of acting, photography, writing, form, pace, etc., one can credit Color Me Kubrick as a charming premise, but one gone sodden and awry with mediocre film-making.