Art School Confidential (2006) Terry Zwigoff Film*

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Dillydipper, May 25, 2006.

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  1. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite Thread Starter

    Location:
    Central PA
    Saw it this evening.

    For a story involving art school mentalities, I was pleasantly surprised that the plot was easy enough to follow, and didn't leave you hanging or bewildered.

    It occurs to me, I chuckled a lot at various points in the film...then came out thinking it wasn't all that great...but still loved the premise, a story I hadn't seen before, and how amateurish the plotting was seemed to mirror the naivete of the young art school students themselves.

    If I had any major quibbles, it would be that the lead character's film-student roomie was overused compared to some of the other characters; his other roomie could have been fleshed-out a bit more...and that buddy of his who always seemed to be there to describe other characters in lieu of narration seemed too much like the obligatory "Expository Fairy", flitting in and out when needed.

    The characters seemed broad stereotypes; then again, I hadn't seen these stereotypes used like this before, so they felt fresh. Several of them seemed to exist only to be made fun of, yet I didn't feel it was as "cruel" to its' characters as, say, Napoleon Dynamite was to theirs'.

    I can't help thinking this premise would make a great HBO or Showtime series. Not a bad effort for what was originally nothing more than a few pages of backup story in a comic book.

    It's no Ghost World, but that's not a fair comparison.
     
  2. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite Thread Starter

    Location:
    Central PA
    I am glad I didn't buy into Entertainment Weekly's D-rating. I think there are a lot of half-savvy reviewers out there who expected another Ghost World, and have unrightfully punished this film for not being that one.
     
  3. 120dB

    120dB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    The local 'City Paper' critic slammed this film for being unfunny and anti-gay. It played on only three screens here (and we have a LOT of multiplexes) and there were about 7 other folks in the Wednesday night screening that I attended. Although I loved "Ghost World" enough to see it twice and buy the DVD, I laughed harder at this film. It may be an 'in-joke' thing if you are not familiar with art school culture but it skewers that world like nothing else around. A very funny movie with a positive message about art vs. pretentiousness that seems to have hit a nerve with the kind of film reviewers who probably flunked out of an art program somewhere.
     
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  4. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member

    I laughed pretty hard at the wall of self-portraits during crit; one guys had just written "Eno Eno Eno" on a piece of white paper and exhibited that.

    I liked it enough (though it did lean awfully heavily on unexplained coincidences to have much emotional impact) but I did prefer 'Six Feet Under' 's expose of the seedy underbelly of the art school experience to this.
     
  5. 120dB

    120dB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    Six Feet Under

    I thought "Six Feet Under" pulled their punches a little too much, but it was a consciously 'arty' show so I'd guess the writers/directors were less cynical about the art school experience as a whole. Great characters though, especiall the sleazy art professor.
     
  6. Captain Groovy

    Captain Groovy Senior Member

    Location:
    Freedonia, USA
    My sister is in it. Character's name is "Donna." All I know is, she wears a sweater.

    I haven't seen it yet (bad me).

    JEFF!
     
  7. agentalbert

    agentalbert Senior Member

    Location:
    San Antonio, TX
    There was some mention of this movie in the "Ghost World" thread and while I'd never heard of it before, I noticed it pop up on recently on Vudu for free streaming, so I gave it a chance. Really enjoyed it! I don't think its quite as good as Ghost World, but is very funny and enjoyable in its own right. Quite a cast with John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Angelica Huston, Jim Broadbent, Adam Scott and Scoot McNairy all taking supporting roles.

    Thanks to those in the Ghost World thread who brought this up, or I might never have seen it. :)
     
  8. drasil

    drasil Former Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    this film and the comic it's based on are brilliant--in fact, it's the only work of Dan Clowes' I really like. he and I share an alma mater, which serves as a barely-veiled setting for the story. apparently, the 25 years between our tenures there didn't change the school much.

    I think there are parts of ASC that probably only make sense to those who attended art school. much of the negative criticism I read of the film unsurprisingly frequently centers around disbelief at these elements, such as with reviewers who felt the students portrayed didn't act like 'college students.' meanwhile, from my perspective, they nailed it. 40s for breakfast? guy setting fire to the building to get out of his final critique? stepping over a guy nodded out on the bathroom floor, syringe still in his arm, to get to the toilet at a party? these sound like they're outtakes from the story, but they're actual events from my time as an undergrad. it's not ohio state out here, folks. I wanna be your dog!

    anyway, 'Eno' the character is one of these things. there's a guy like that in every class starting sophomore year. and I think the naming is probably a meaningless sarcastic joke, like most of Clowes' work--in fact, I think the character's name is likely as not to be an indication that Clowes actually likes Eno's music.
     
  9. Hexwood

    Hexwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I watched it about ten years ago. I remember enjoying it a lot. I must re-watch it again soon.
     
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