ifc
Darkon: Really, We’re Laughing With Them
Nov 12th
Documentary might be the most important vehicle for journalism today – if only for its ability to expose truths to the masses and challenge the way people think of the world around them. Not everyone reads. Also, sometimes they just introduce us to crazy people. And crazy people are fun! Tonight sees the debut of one such crazy-sploitation doc right on TV. After over a year on the festival circuit, Darkon gets its official premiere on IFC.
So what exactly is Darkon? Well, it’s a make believe land like Middle Earth or Unbaptized Baby Purgatory, and it was created by guys in suburban DC with boring jobs – almost 2,000 to be exact, all of them a part of their own sub-Darkon nations and, occasionally, species. One weekend a month they dress up like Knights of Monty Python’s round table and beat each other senseless with foam swords and other squishy medieval weaponry. It’s like an extremely interactive (and expensive) game of dungeons and dragons. The rest of the year, they do your taxes and help mix paint colors for you at Lowe’s. You could live next door to one and not even know it.
As an exposé on a relatively unknown group of eccentrics, the film does a standup job of telling a balanced story. These folks may be weird as hell, but they’re also sweet with their children and disarmingly honest about the disappointments in life that led them to find fulfillment in role-playing. Between these candid interviews and the gorgeous score, Darkon is, on occasion, a stirring film. Then they show clips of people speaking made-up languages and clearly rehearsed fake death-monologues, and it’s just kind of funny. Lead Darkonian Skip Lipman’s real-life son might actually be the film’s highlight. The little boy’s incoherent Red Bull-fueled tangents and energetic swordsmanship provide much-needed breaks from the denser scenes of improvised Olde English.
Darkon does prompt the same question as most documentaries of this nature: why exactly did these people volunteer for this kind of exploitation? Sure, they’re portrayed as the charming and heartfelt characters that they probably are, but they’re also exposed as seriously insane. And that’s the only reason people are going to get a kick out of this film. If you do check it out, head over to IFC’s increasingly whimsical site and click on the Ye Olde Name Generator feature. After answering five questions as truthfully as possible, it turns out that my Darkon name is “Malnakur, Protector of the Hole of Glory.” No joke.
Trapped in the Closet: Beware “the Package”
Aug 24th
You might want to think twice before signing for that package… After 22 chapters of repetitive, non-nonsensical, non-rhyming and seriously entertaining theatrics, it turns out that R Kelly’s viral Hip-Hopera, Trapped in the Closet, is actually a cautionary tale about AIDS. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially from a man accused of being a water sports-loving pedophile, but that twisted love octagon wasn’t just an excuse for hilarity.
Between arbitrary displays of thug lady-love, wardrobe changes and mob deals, we learn that the pastor’s gay lover is in the hospital, and Rosie (the nosy neighbor) starts spreading rumors that he gave the pastor “the package.” It’s safe to assume this package is a new, potentially trendy, reference to HIV. 22 sees the phone lines buzzing, connecting the dots with lines that were only figurative for the last few years. Chuck slept with Rufus, Rufus slept with Kathy, Kathy slept with Sylvester, Sylvester slept with Gwendolyn, Gwendolyn slept with James, James slept with Bridget, and Bridget slept with a midget. Where the AIDS train stops (if it does at all), we know not. Tracing the origins of “the package” to a homosexual may not have been the most progressive move, but it’s still a thoughtful warning against philandering.
Who knows what’s actually going on in Kelly’s mind? The interviews with IFC News’ super-charmer Matt Singer are entertaining but shed little light on the subject. R Kelly’s exploitation of stereotypes within the urban black community could be his best vehicle for social commentary. He could also quite easily be taking the piss out of all of us. We know how much he loves that. Oh Shit!
Catch up with Trapped at IFC.com, and expect a new batch in the distant future.
The Business Offers Us a Second Look Inside Their “Brain Zoo”
Aug 6th
Oh, Sunday, night of pleasant comedic surprises!
If the recently reinvigorated Entourage or an unexpected French Conchords‘ interlude didn’t sate your appetite for funny last night, IFC premiered the second seasons of both The Business and The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman. The first season of Minor was a little gem that cruised below the radar (as most stuff on IFC does), and the newest installment doesn’t look likely to disappoint either. Laura Kightlinger is a strange creature whose flawless delivery makes even the most mundane lines send me into fits of laughter, but I’ve got to say that even her strong season premiere was seriously shown up by the folks on The Business.
The Business suffers from the unfortunate circumstances of being another single-camera sitcom about the entertainment industry – earning it inevitable comparisons to umpteen vaguely similar shows – but what it may lack in uniqueness of vision, it more than makes up for in spot on writing and an ensemble cast that gels perfectly. While many shows like it feature one or two players in stand out roles carrying their costars along for the ride, The Business has the distinction of having a group who are even more convincing playing off each other as they are on their own.
Season two sees Vic and Julia (Kathleen Robertson) trying to distance themselves even further from Vic’s Flicks’ pornographic roots after the success of their first indie horror film “House of Fear” made them partners. Julia must continue to steer her inept colleagues towards success, and Robertson handles the task with the comedic precision of Mary Tyler Moore – had WJM-TV produced direct-to-DVD titles like “Drunk Girls” and Ed Asner been a smarmy idiot.
Half industry exposé and half workplace sitcom, The Business is a satisfying cross between 30 Rock and The Office that more than makes up for their absence during the summer hiatus while offering a charm and humor that is distinctly it’s own. Catch up with the first season (that you undoubtedly missed) on DVD or just tune in; familiarity with the back story is not necessary.