Glad you like it! Some of the best animation ever, eh?
re-watched
Even beyond this film just being really really surreal, endlessly entertaining, and hilarious -- one of the most overlooked, and interesting aspects, of the movie is Tom Green's DIRECTION.
While it's obviously not an art film (or a DePalma film), and not concerned with elliptical editing, splitscreens, long takes, etc. -- the film is actually really competently-made. The camera remains largely static throughout, though there are some nice tracking shots (the opening of the restauraunt scene, which goes from the cello, sweeps through the whole restauraunt, and lands on Gord's table during his date -- also, the first "Japan four" shot, where the camera runs with an energetic aplomb, though stops on a dime when it needs to), great reaction shots (one of the most brilliant parts of the movie; all the reaction shots are golden -- the "he's a child molestor!" scene for example, is built around almost nothing but hilarious reaction shots) -- and Green's use of slow motion is one of the funniest I've EVER seen (in the same scene, after Gord throws the statue through the window, and jumps in slow motion -- suggesting that he's jumping from a great distance, when in fact he's jumping from about a foot! After that, there's a few great jump cuts, showing Gord running down the stairs).
This film is actually a great feast for the eyes; the camera isn't shakey... there is a care, and artfulness, to certain scenes, that really suggest a truly GOOD director here. All those shots with the helicopter? Great.
So, if one were to overlook all the so-called "offensive" content, there'd still be a truly well-made film.
But you know whaT? The content is what led me to give this a 10/10. this film has:
- no gay jokes
- no fat jokes
- no drug jokes
- no bodily function jokes (aside from semen, from the animals)
- no disability jokes (in fact, the lone "Disabled" character is the smartest character in the film, a true inspiration to everyone else, who never lets her disability get in the way -- she inspires Gord to become a better, more successful person)
Without adhering to ANY filmmaking cliches, and STILL managing to make a truly BRILLIANT film in the process? Great writing.
Honestly, the hatred for this film was clearly the critcs' reaction to the hype, the "product of MTV", since critics don't represent the opinions of moviegoers in the least. I've never met a single person who HATED this film, and in fact, this film has one of the more fanatical followings I've seen. It's not even a cult film -- this film made its budget back, and sold nearly 2,000,000 DVD's so far. So, this is, honest-to-god, a true mainstream success.
And one can easily see why: what is going on here is in the vein of John Waters, and even the absurdism of Buneul. At times, of course. Other times, this is pure TOM GREEN; 100% original.
Over the years, Green's reputation -- and the reputation of this film -- has only improved. Green seems embarassed by some of his old stunts, but not this film. He spent 2 years on it, put up a lot of his own money, worked with lots of great people that were almost as talented as him, and spent 8 months editing it. It's a true labor of love. Rip Torn even said Green is one of the best directors he's ever worked with, and Rip Torn has worked with tons of cinematic heroes, from Dennis Hopper to whoever made "Coming Apart" (one of the best independant films ever made).
It's only a matter of time before a Criterion release really does happen. The greatest mainstream film of the past decade. In need of a serious critical reappraisal, too; considering stuff like Superbad is not only mainstream multi million dollar movie making sensations but also worldwide award winning hits, despite being far "grosser", cruder, more vile, and not even as fun or as well made as FREDDY GOT FINGERED (and don't get me wrong, I love Superbad, but one of the biggest complaints about Freddy.. was that it was plotless; what exactly was the plot to Superbad? Kids say a bunch of insane shit, try to get alcohol, and then go to a party? Since when is a comedy about a storyline anyway? It's all about setting up the next hilarious scene). I bet I've seen this film 100 times, and it gets better with every watch.
10/10. Easily.
Funniest thing about Freddy is how damn SMART the thing is. It's a brilliantly intelligent film, masquerading as a dumb comedy. Not unlike Beavis and Butthead plus Ren and Stimpy, in that regard.