Art School Confidential (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
'Art School Confidential' is a dark, quirky comedy directed by Terry Zwigoff. Jerome Platz (Max Minghella) has entered Strathmore Art School in order to achieve fame, money, girls, & recognition as an artist; he wants to be 'the' artist of the 21st century, asserting, "I want to be the next Picasso". The first problem here is that he does not know enough about Picasso or his art to realize the discrepancy in style; this is beside the point. Along with becoming the next biggest thing in the art world, he also wants to fill a female void in his life. At times it is very funny & a good indicator of the faux-angstiness that students display within the confines of an art school. And while the ending is decent, I never felt like I got to know any character on more than a surface level. The film is good, but inconsequential.
Though his family thinks he is gay, Jerome knows what he wants. And at school, it winds up being the seemingly unattainable model, Audrey (Sophia Myles). She's impressed with his drawings of her, & they start a timid relationship. Why timid? She is woman, he is 'boy', and her history of playing for the other team doesn't help. Also, when Audrey begins to fall for egotistical classmate, Jonah, Jerome enlists the help of a drunk, reclusive alumni, Jimmy (Jim Broadbent) to find an artistic style & win Audrey back. Did he ever really have her in the first place? Unfortunately, there's a subplot in this film which attempts to tie things together in the end. Apparently, The Strathmore Strangler (a murderer), has been on the loose around campus, & everyone is a suspect. It is neat how they tie up Jerome's aspirations for becoming famous, with this aforementioned murderer-on-the-loose. But, with so much emphasis on the murder (that no one seems to care much about), we really lose a lot of potential funny, snarky, and/or meaningful exposition and dialogue from ALL of our characters.
Some of these other characters include, Professor Sandiford (a great John Malkovich) as a failed painter who wants to see Jerome & all of his students achieve something great, if only for his own personal & professional benefit. Vince (Ethan Suplee) is your stereotypical, sexually obsessed film student. I wanted more of his commentary throughout the film. Broadway Bob (Steve Buscemi) is a restaurant owner who shows the works of Strathmore students, again, only for personal & professional benefit. And Anjelica Huston plays Professor Sophie. While her lines are few, she delivers them with as much dryness & honesty as we've come to know from the ace actress over the years. Famous artist, Marvin Bushmiller (Adam Scott), tells students at an assembly, 'if you want your art noticed ... you need to have some sort of gimmick'. In life, & in this plot, he couldn't be more right. And Jerome resorts to the ultimate gimmick to get noticed.
Because of the murder subplot, the movie flails around a bit with no engaging center. It starts as a dark comedy, descends into melodrama, becomes a who-dun-it with the murder subplot, comes back to satire, & ends in a typical Hollywood fashion. How can a movie be 'deep' when it lacks a certain focus? After several scenes I would say to myself, 'Why'd she say that? What are her intentions? Why is she doing this?' etc. Many scenes are good, but there is no cohesiveness. The plot is the ultimate downfall. I enjoy a lot of 'parts' of "Art School Confidential", but there is no 'whole' to the movie. I want the whole.
Though his family thinks he is gay, Jerome knows what he wants. And at school, it winds up being the seemingly unattainable model, Audrey (Sophia Myles). She's impressed with his drawings of her, & they start a timid relationship. Why timid? She is woman, he is 'boy', and her history of playing for the other team doesn't help. Also, when Audrey begins to fall for egotistical classmate, Jonah, Jerome enlists the help of a drunk, reclusive alumni, Jimmy (Jim Broadbent) to find an artistic style & win Audrey back. Did he ever really have her in the first place? Unfortunately, there's a subplot in this film which attempts to tie things together in the end. Apparently, The Strathmore Strangler (a murderer), has been on the loose around campus, & everyone is a suspect. It is neat how they tie up Jerome's aspirations for becoming famous, with this aforementioned murderer-on-the-loose. But, with so much emphasis on the murder (that no one seems to care much about), we really lose a lot of potential funny, snarky, and/or meaningful exposition and dialogue from ALL of our characters.
Some of these other characters include, Professor Sandiford (a great John Malkovich) as a failed painter who wants to see Jerome & all of his students achieve something great, if only for his own personal & professional benefit. Vince (Ethan Suplee) is your stereotypical, sexually obsessed film student. I wanted more of his commentary throughout the film. Broadway Bob (Steve Buscemi) is a restaurant owner who shows the works of Strathmore students, again, only for personal & professional benefit. And Anjelica Huston plays Professor Sophie. While her lines are few, she delivers them with as much dryness & honesty as we've come to know from the ace actress over the years. Famous artist, Marvin Bushmiller (Adam Scott), tells students at an assembly, 'if you want your art noticed ... you need to have some sort of gimmick'. In life, & in this plot, he couldn't be more right. And Jerome resorts to the ultimate gimmick to get noticed.
Because of the murder subplot, the movie flails around a bit with no engaging center. It starts as a dark comedy, descends into melodrama, becomes a who-dun-it with the murder subplot, comes back to satire, & ends in a typical Hollywood fashion. How can a movie be 'deep' when it lacks a certain focus? After several scenes I would say to myself, 'Why'd she say that? What are her intentions? Why is she doing this?' etc. Many scenes are good, but there is no cohesiveness. The plot is the ultimate downfall. I enjoy a lot of 'parts' of "Art School Confidential", but there is no 'whole' to the movie. I want the whole.