If Cecil B. Demented had been in another director's hands, besides the filth elder John Waters', it probably be an underdeveloped, dry exercise. The fact that Waters has surpassed his phase of grotesque shock films and has moved onto smarter, witty satires set in Baltimore shows that he is diverse and willing to jump into any pool even if it's a bit murky.
The film is one big kiss to the world of underground cinema, and one big diss on mainstream cinema. I can't say that I disagree with a lot of the film's views. It expresses an extreme hatred for the modern schlock we've been served every week at the movies, and how the independent films will prevail. We're introduced to Honey Whitlock (Griffith), a Hollywood A-lister who is attending her big movie premiere. She is snobby, pretentious, and very condescending to her peers. When Honey enters her premiere, seconds before the movie goes on, independent director Cecil B. Demented (played fantastically by Stephen Dorff) and his band of "kamikaze filmmakers" kidnap her and force her to star in their low budget works of art.
The first few minutes, set mostly around the premiere, feature many people involved with Demented's working as attendants and ushers at the event, when really, they are behind a very, very dangerous plot. In John Waters: This Filthy World, a movie that documents his tour across the world, Waters states that if Cecil B. Demented would've been proposed after 9/11 it would've never gotten made. I can see why. The film is a work of "film terrorism" and there are many secretly plotted acts involving violence and the deaths of innocent civilians.
Do they work? Most of the time they do. The film is honestly funny, deliciously dark, and a clever commentary on the world of low budget filmmaking. The character of Cecil B. Demented is very funny, and the role of Honey Whitlock is portrayed equally as interesting by Melanie Griffith.
Compared to other Water's feature, Cecil might be the weakest one. Pink Flamingos was unexpectedly hilarious in its ugly roots. Serial Mom was overacting at its finest, portraying suburbia like this shiny slice of heaven even when the craziness was unfolding. Cry-Baby captured the fifties era of rebellion perfectly, and I can say that Polyester was a weaker Serial Mom, yet occupying moments of its own. Cecil has the script and the direction of classic Waters, but not the admirable characters of his other pictures. It's a fun exercise, dancing to its own beat, but it isn't on par with his other works of art.
Starring: Melanie Griffith, Stephen Dorff, Alicia Witt, Adrian Grenier, Mink Stole, and Ricki Lake. Directed by: John Waters.
The film is one big kiss to the world of underground cinema, and one big diss on mainstream cinema. I can't say that I disagree with a lot of the film's views. It expresses an extreme hatred for the modern schlock we've been served every week at the movies, and how the independent films will prevail. We're introduced to Honey Whitlock (Griffith), a Hollywood A-lister who is attending her big movie premiere. She is snobby, pretentious, and very condescending to her peers. When Honey enters her premiere, seconds before the movie goes on, independent director Cecil B. Demented (played fantastically by Stephen Dorff) and his band of "kamikaze filmmakers" kidnap her and force her to star in their low budget works of art.
The first few minutes, set mostly around the premiere, feature many people involved with Demented's working as attendants and ushers at the event, when really, they are behind a very, very dangerous plot. In John Waters: This Filthy World, a movie that documents his tour across the world, Waters states that if Cecil B. Demented would've been proposed after 9/11 it would've never gotten made. I can see why. The film is a work of "film terrorism" and there are many secretly plotted acts involving violence and the deaths of innocent civilians.
Do they work? Most of the time they do. The film is honestly funny, deliciously dark, and a clever commentary on the world of low budget filmmaking. The character of Cecil B. Demented is very funny, and the role of Honey Whitlock is portrayed equally as interesting by Melanie Griffith.
Compared to other Water's feature, Cecil might be the weakest one. Pink Flamingos was unexpectedly hilarious in its ugly roots. Serial Mom was overacting at its finest, portraying suburbia like this shiny slice of heaven even when the craziness was unfolding. Cry-Baby captured the fifties era of rebellion perfectly, and I can say that Polyester was a weaker Serial Mom, yet occupying moments of its own. Cecil has the script and the direction of classic Waters, but not the admirable characters of his other pictures. It's a fun exercise, dancing to its own beat, but it isn't on par with his other works of art.
Starring: Melanie Griffith, Stephen Dorff, Alicia Witt, Adrian Grenier, Mink Stole, and Ricki Lake. Directed by: John Waters.