The Devil's playground
"Idle Hands"
Overall Rating: ***½
My original plan this weekend was to review "Entrapment." I went to the midnight show on Friday, and the projector's bulb blew out--causing me to miss about two or three minutes of the movie. I formed enough of an opinion to write a review of "Entrapment," and I didn't particularly want to see it a second time. However, before you complain that "I'm a disgrace to film critics everywhere" and "the two minutes when Mac and Gin enter the Petronas Towers will change cinematic history"--take heart, for: one, if it's really that good, I can still go back, and two, like me, you're getting two for the price of one this weekend. All told, things worked out for the best, since "Idle Hands" is more entertaining than "Entrapment."
Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa) is, if not the ultimate slacker, at least a typical slacker: either way, his days consist of smoking pot, watching MTV, ignoring his parents, and skipping school. Anton is so clueless, he doesn't even notice that not only is there a serial killer in town, but said killer has murdered his parents. He finally takes notice when, while he's awake, the killer gets his two closest friends, Mick and Pnub (Seth Green and Elden Henson respectively). The killer is his demonically possessed right hand. Nothing to fear, however, for Mick and Pnub have come back as zombies--the light at the end of that tunnel may be Heaven, but it is a long walk, after all. If the three of them can control Anton's hand, they might just save Anton's new girlfriend, Molly (Jessica Alba).
Imagine a cross between "Scream" and "There's Something About Mary," and you'll have a good mental image of "Idle Hands." There are some slacker jokes, but most of the jokes come from the horror-parody situation. Can zombies get stoned? "Idle Hands" answers this question: it's not nonstop laughs, but it has more than its share of moments. The special effects are the match of any recent horror film. For instance, Pnub--the airheaded, headless zombie--has a rather casual attitude about where he leaves his head.
Beyond the jokes and special effects, there is a decent horror film parody. The plot makes little sense--but that's part of the point: there's enough to hold it together, but nothing more. Devon Sawa is good as the boy with the least controllable hand since Dr. Strangelove's (and while there's no evidence beyond the hand coincidence, I'd wonder if that more famous comedy was on the filmmakers' minds), Seth Green and Elden Henson are better as his fun-loving but dead friends.
As parodies go, "Idle Hands" takes a good shot at the modern horror film. A minor problem is that the gore and gross jokes go over the top (or below the bottom) more than once. A more serious problem is the almost illogical script: the writers chose to walk a tightrope, and sometimes fall off on both sides--some things are almost logical, and some make no sense at all. The total picture is good--but still far from great.
"Idle Hands" is not family fare. Aside from the copious blood and gore, a great deal of violence, several sex scenes including nudity, a fair amount of strong language, and numerous scenes with on-screen drug use, there's no reason to leave the kids home; aside from all that, there's no movie, either.
I had an idle curiosity regarding "Idle Hands;" in the end, it was better than I expected. A true cinematic great, probably not, but it takes an entertaining stab at slashing the slasher films.
Title: "Idle Hands"
Release date: April 30, 1999
Overall Rating: ***½
My original plan this weekend was to review "Entrapment." I went to the midnight show on Friday, and the projector's bulb blew out--causing me to miss about two or three minutes of the movie. I formed enough of an opinion to write a review of "Entrapment," and I didn't particularly want to see it a second time. However, before you complain that "I'm a disgrace to film critics everywhere" and "the two minutes when Mac and Gin enter the Petronas Towers will change cinematic history"--take heart, for: one, if it's really that good, I can still go back, and two, like me, you're getting two for the price of one this weekend. All told, things worked out for the best, since "Idle Hands" is more entertaining than "Entrapment."
Anton Tobias (Devon Sawa) is, if not the ultimate slacker, at least a typical slacker: either way, his days consist of smoking pot, watching MTV, ignoring his parents, and skipping school. Anton is so clueless, he doesn't even notice that not only is there a serial killer in town, but said killer has murdered his parents. He finally takes notice when, while he's awake, the killer gets his two closest friends, Mick and Pnub (Seth Green and Elden Henson respectively). The killer is his demonically possessed right hand. Nothing to fear, however, for Mick and Pnub have come back as zombies--the light at the end of that tunnel may be Heaven, but it is a long walk, after all. If the three of them can control Anton's hand, they might just save Anton's new girlfriend, Molly (Jessica Alba).
Imagine a cross between "Scream" and "There's Something About Mary," and you'll have a good mental image of "Idle Hands." There are some slacker jokes, but most of the jokes come from the horror-parody situation. Can zombies get stoned? "Idle Hands" answers this question: it's not nonstop laughs, but it has more than its share of moments. The special effects are the match of any recent horror film. For instance, Pnub--the airheaded, headless zombie--has a rather casual attitude about where he leaves his head.
Beyond the jokes and special effects, there is a decent horror film parody. The plot makes little sense--but that's part of the point: there's enough to hold it together, but nothing more. Devon Sawa is good as the boy with the least controllable hand since Dr. Strangelove's (and while there's no evidence beyond the hand coincidence, I'd wonder if that more famous comedy was on the filmmakers' minds), Seth Green and Elden Henson are better as his fun-loving but dead friends.
As parodies go, "Idle Hands" takes a good shot at the modern horror film. A minor problem is that the gore and gross jokes go over the top (or below the bottom) more than once. A more serious problem is the almost illogical script: the writers chose to walk a tightrope, and sometimes fall off on both sides--some things are almost logical, and some make no sense at all. The total picture is good--but still far from great.
"Idle Hands" is not family fare. Aside from the copious blood and gore, a great deal of violence, several sex scenes including nudity, a fair amount of strong language, and numerous scenes with on-screen drug use, there's no reason to leave the kids home; aside from all that, there's no movie, either.
I had an idle curiosity regarding "Idle Hands;" in the end, it was better than I expected. A true cinematic great, probably not, but it takes an entertaining stab at slashing the slasher films.
Title: "Idle Hands"
Release date: April 30, 1999
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ***½
Overall rating: ***½
Aprox. run time: 92 min.
Director: Rodman Flender
Writers: Terri Hughes, Ron Milbauer
Stars: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/IdleHand.htm
Director: Rodman Flender
Writers: Terri Hughes, Ron Milbauer
Stars: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Mansion/7045/IdleHand.htm
Added to blog site: 7/28/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 5/02/1999 02:30:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home