December 29, 2008
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Somewhere, Seagal is insanely jealous.
There's a pivotal scene towards the end of Mabrouk El Mechri's surreal 2008 character piece JCVD which finds our titular hero floating casually above the movie set, tearfully recollecting the ups and downs of his impossibly tumultuous career. It's an odd, unexpected moment in this strangely touching film, giving the usually campy Van Damme a chance to flex the acting abilities most of us never believed he possessed. It's at this very moment that you realize Jean-Claude Van Damme is taking this opportunity very seriously, pouring his heart and soul into a project that doesn't reek of lame desperation or single-minded monetary gain. Don't go into this one anticipating excessive action mayhem, cheesy one-liners, or a rapid series of escalating explosions -- all of that has been wisely replaced with depth, humor, and above all else, heart. However, there is plenty of levity on tap, though most of the light-hearted material is contained within the first 45 minutes of the picture. That's because JCVD is neither a bank heist flick -- as the trailers would have you believe -- nor a self-deprecating comedy. If anything, it's an off-beat cinematic catharsis for a man who has been chewed up and spit out by the proverbial Hollywood machine. After this drastic shift in tone, revisiting Van Damme's earlier endeavors should definitely prove interesting. Believe the hype, and give the man his money.
Recipe For Success: Van Damme's Career-Defining Performance + One Enormous Heart + Who Cares? Just Watch It Already
Courtroom Strategy: When your wife's lawyer is ripping you to shreds, don't take an unscheduled potty break.
Spin kick the glasses off his ugly mug, instead.
1 Spasms:
HA! I loved your headline to this review :-)
This one is in my Netflix Queue - I am looking forward to it's DVD release!
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