BEFORE: I've got just over 40 films left to watch this year, then I'm calling it - until January 1, of course. Did you think I was going to STOP, just because I got (sorry, will get) my first "perfect year"? I may want another one, or as close to one as I can get, I'm greedy that way. Anyway, the process is underway to figure out where Movie Year 12 is going to start, but in order to do that, I'm going to do what I did when setting up Movie Year 10, which is to figure out the February romance-themed chain first, and then work backwards until I get to a good film for January 1.
I know it's still very early, and a lot can change, but yesterday I was able to assemble a chain of 40 films, nearly all based on the theme of romance or relationships, and sure, it's longer than the month of February, but right now it's something to work with. And hey, this year's romance chain extended into half of March, and things worked out just fine. I can always make it shorter if need be - but I can't move forward with January plans until I know where January needs to end. I can also start a couple days before Feb. 1 if I want.
It's odd that until yesterday, the films were resisting my attempts to link them coherently, there were just too many choices or something, because I couldn't see the big picture. But then I added ONE crucial little film, and then it all started coming together. Now, even if I stick to this plan, I still have two options - the chain has two ends, and either one could be my film on Feb. 1, I can flip it around in either direction. So I'm not locked in to any ONE film as a starting point for this chain, that will give me more options for making a coherent January line-up.
Rosario Dawson carries over from "Top Five".
THE PLOT: In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a universe of greed.
AFTER: My choice for a link to carry over to this film was random, more or less. It got me to another film that I've been very curious about, that seems to be the recurring driving force. Now, it turns out that Rosario Dawson only provides the voice of a computer, one heard in an elevator, but that counts, too. This film is all about voices, and what they sound like, and what they mean. I've hung my linking chain on much more questionable appearances than this, for sure. But it doesn't matter if an actor just provides a voice for a film, or appears for just a few seconds as someone seen sleeping on a train, both are confirmed appearances. Archive footage is also allowed, but I try to draw the line at someone just appearing in a stock photo, or singing on a song, especially one not recorded just for the current film. (Elton John doing a cameo in "Kingsman: The Secret Service" linking to a film that just used an Elton John song on the soundtrack would be a no-no. But if he appeared in archive footage at the end of "Rocketman", and I was desperate, I'd consider it. As long as it wasn't just a still photo. Makes sense?)
I'm almost getting tired of using the phrase "This was a weird movie" - because ultimately saying that just isn't constructive, and this year I think I've watched more than my fair share of "weird movies". Breaking them all down by their various levels of weirdness is going to be quite a task at the end of 2019 - weird in what way? Non-linear structure weird, fantastical unbelievable storyline weird, time travel weird, or "what was the point of this little exercise" weird? Mel Gibson talking through a beaver hand puppet weird, or Walter Matthau cast as Albert Einstein weird? In a year where both Ryan Reynolds and Kathleen Turner played serial killers in dark comedies, just where is the bar set, exactly? "Dogville", "Paterson", "The Lego Movie 2" - in many ways, it feels like "weird" is the new normal, or maybe it's just that movies these days have to go pretty far in order to stand out from the herd.
So they set this film in an alternate-reality - that's helpful to know, because it prevents me from saying, "Hey, that's not right, that's not the way things work..." and I kind of lose all ability to file a NITPICK POINT, but then I wonder if it's also sort of a cop-out. Sure, it means anything can happen, and that can be great when forming a creative narrative, but it can also be a bit distancing, like why should I care about what happens in this film if it's not happening in the world outside my window? This is an issue that's plagued the comic-book industry for decades, because clearly the DC and Marvel universes are not OUR Earth, because we don't have people with super-powers in ours. So they have to be alternate realities, but this also makes it too easy for the creators to destroy the universe and start again, whenever they want or whenever sales are lagging. (So the Batman and Superman and Spider-Man in the comics today are just NOT the same characters they were in the 1940's, the 1960's or even the 1990's, there have been several reality-warps or universe shifts since then.)
In this altermate version of Oakland, CA there's a great racial divide, and everyone's struggling to get by, they're living in other people's garages and basements, or even living on the streets. I know, I know, how is this different from our world? Just wait for it... Some people, including the lead character, are lucky enough to find employment doing telemarketing work, but it's long hours, frustrating and tedious work with little chance of success. (Again, how is this different?) Cassius's girlfriend, Detroit, works as a sign-spinner out on the street but is also a graphic artist working on putting together a gallery show.
Finally, the movie deviates from our reality when Cassius gets the advice to start using a "white voice" when he makes his sales calls. No spoilers here, because you probably saw this part in the trailer for the film, the voice is obviously that of another actor and it gets dubbed in, the black actors lip-sync to more stereotypically Caucasian voices. (And if you're wondering if this is racist at all, just flip it around and think about whether it would be racism, or at least cultural appropriation, to have white actors lip-syncing to African-American voices...so the answer is YES)
But for Cassius, this is the fast-track to success, using his "white voice" to make sales over the phone. He's supposedly able to close more deals because his voice is friendlier, and he's able to gain the trust of the customers. There's a greater point being made here, I suppose, but it only leads to more questions - like if the white voice is so successful, why aren't there more white people making these calls? Why did they even hire black people in the first place, if no customers buy anything from them and just hang up on them? If white voices sell things, the recipe for success would be to hire more white people to make the calls, right? So the premise here doesn't really work, it's clunky at best. But for the sake of argument, once he starts using the white voice, he becomes a "power caller" and gets sent upstairs, where he can call more and more important clients and make bigger and bigger deals.
We've got so many anti-discrimination laws now, but do they really work? I worked for a summer in a movie theater in NYC, and for some reason the manager would only hire women to work at the popcorn counter, and men to work as ushers. I applied for one job, but was told that I had to be an usher, despite my experience and preference to work at concessions. And this was in 1989 - should I have filed a lawsuit? There are still jobs that remain gender-based, like you can't hire a man to work as a women's restroom attendant, or vice versa. There are probably other examples that I just can't think of right now, and I bet there are plenty of private clubs around the country that still won't hire people of color. End of Rant.
Once Cassius heads upstairs and starts making some real money, getting himself out of debt and out of his uncle's garage, the film takes a turn, which I don't want to say anything about, but you'll know it when you see it. Obviously this is a huge metaphor for slavery, with Cassius wondering if he's become an "Uncle Tom" at the end of the day. All you really need to know is that there's a company seen in the background, in the news reports and such, called WorryFree, where people who are having trouble making ends meet can sign lifetime work contracts to live in miserable conditions, and though their food and basic needs are covered, they'll be working this job for the rest of their days, with no chance of parole. Sorry, I mean vacation.
It's not hard to draw an indirect line between WorryFree and certain notable corporations in our reality, like the tech companies that make their products in China with little regard for the working conditions there or the social impact they're having on the foreign workers. Or U.S.-based corporations like Amazon that don't seem to care much for the health and well-being of their employees, especially the ones that can't hustle and fulfill a certain number of orders per hour. We went through this in NYC earlier this year, with Amazon eyeing space in Long Island City, which seemed like the best deal at first, but then people started thinking about what the impact would be on the local economy, the fact that whatever small stores are left in this city could close, and the fact that once you figured in the tax breaks they were lured here with, Amazon would probably be taking more money OUT of the city than they'd be bringing in. Or maybe it's just that right after watching "Sorry to Bother You", I watched the last two episodes of last season's "South Park", and they were riffing on exactly this subject.
But this film and my last three before it all share a plot point in common - someone becomes a "viral sensation", and there are implicaions of that. The teacher fight in "Fist Fight" gets hashtagged and then the whole city finds out about it, Eddie Krumble in "The Clapper" gets filmed by people on the street who recognize him from the TV talk-show, and Andre Allen in "Top Five" goes viral when he tears apart a store display in a supermarket. Here Cassius blows up on the internet while crossing a picket line, when a protestor throws a cola can at his head. Before long, everyone's wearing an afro wig with a cola can in it as their Halloween costume. Well, it is that time of year, after all - I must remember to go buy some candy before the drug stores start to run out.
There is one character who does not seem to have a name, his last name is blank on the IMDB credits, and it gets
Also starring Lakeith Stanfield (last seen in "War Machine"), Tessa Thompson (last seen in "Avengers: Endgame"), Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick (last seen in "Kick-Ass"), Terry Crews (last seen in "Deadpool 2"), Danny Glover (last seen in "The Old Man & The Gun"), Robert Longstreet (ditto), Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer (last seen in "The Birth of a Nation"), Kate Berlant, Michael X. Sommers, Indigo Jackson, Eric Jacobus, and the voices of David Cross (last seen in "The Last Laugh"), Patton Oswalt (last seen in "Gilbert"), Lily James (last seen in "Baby Driver"), Forest Whitaker (last seen in "Jane Fonda in Five Acts"), with a cameo from W. Kamau Bell.
RATING: 5 out of 10 claymation cavemen
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