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Thursday, 06 September 2007 |
  Some 15 years or more ago I had seen a bizarre movie starring Judd Nelson, of "Brat Pack" Fame, several years after their peak. All I could recall was a remarkably unfunny stand-up comedian who suddenly discovers an arm growing out of his back. What I didn't recall was how monotonous the movie was. I suspect my vague memory from that first viewing was because I caught up on some sleep, as I did this time, despite several glasses of iced tea.
Judd Nelson plays Marty Malt, a sweaty, insecure garbage collector who, with the encouragement of his accordion playing sidekick Gus (Bill Paxton) decides to take on open mic night at the local pit comedy club. He is fabulously bad, and not in a "so good he's bad" kind of way. One morning, a bump develops on his back, which eventually turns into a full arm, creating an opportunity to become successful, despite his utter lack of talent. I swear, I'm not making this up.
What could be a wonderfully weird, satirical movie ends up being just some childish attempt to combine David Lynch and John Waters. No matter how bad that sounds, it worse. It's always a bad sign when I have to take my third break while trying to complete a movie. I rarely ever simply give up, but The Dark Backward was definitely testing my limits. Writer/director Adam Rifkin was 19 when he wrote the screenplay, and is yet another bit of evidence there are too many "writer/directors" making movies. I'm sure the intention was for some profound metaphor, but I'm at a loss to identify it. Possibly it was intended as a Man Who Fell to Earth kind of concept. If it was, yow did it fail. There is a commentary track on the DVD, but hell if I am suffering through this again to find out what the intention was.
Starring: Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, Wayne Newton, Lara Flynn Boyle, James Caan, Rob Lowe, Claudia Christian.
Director: Adam Rifkin
Studio: RCA/Columbia Pictures
Rated: R
Running Time: 101 minutes
Release: 1991
Reviewer: John Rice |
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