Wow, hard to believe that this is my 100^th post since I started this blog.

 So I just saw one of my favorite bands, AFI, being interviewed on Distortion (Steven Smith’s show on the music channel FUSE).  They had a new album come out last month called “Crash Love” and one of the songs on it is called “Veronica Sawyer Smokes” (it’s my favorite song on the CD).  Turns out, the title is a reference to Winona Ryder’s character in the movie “Heathers”.  I hadn’t watched this movie in a while so it didn’t click as to where the name came from.

By the way, this is not the first time Davey (singer/lyricist for AFI) has made a reference to one of Winona’s characters.  On their “Art of Drowning” CD from 2000, there is a song called “The Despair Factor” that has one of her lines from the movie “Beetlejuice” (“My whole life is a dark room, one big dark room”).   

Anyway, after hearing them talk about the movie, I decided it was time I watched it again.  This is a terrific dark comedy from 1989.  The setting is Westerburg High School.  The most powerful (and downright mean) group at the school consists of three girls named Heather and one girl named Veronica.  I would say they are equally worshiped and hated by their fellow classmates.

Heather McNamara (aka Heather #1) is the leader of the group.  She doesn’t care about anyone but herself.  She is equally as mean to her supposed friends as she is to others at the school.  Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) is a more recent addition to the group, however, she is already getting frustrated with Heather #1 and how she treats others.  Her attempts to make changes to the way the group operates are quickly squashed.

Veronica becomes intrigued by the new guy at school, Jason Dean (Christian Slater) and he seems to be watching her just as intently.  When she finds out how he handled a couple of jocks at school that were hassling him, she is both amused and impressed by him.  It doesn’t take very long before they hook up and become an item.

Heather #1 has been invited to a college party and decides that Veronica should go with her.  Veronica really isn’t happy at being pawed over by the college guys and whatever she had to drink really didn’t agree with her.  She ends up getting sick, which, just makes Heather #1 pissed off.  Heather #1 then threatens to ruin her by telling everyone at school what happened.

By the time Veronica finally gets home she is livid.  As she is ranting in her journal about what happened, Jason unexpectedly shows up at her bedroom window.  They decided that Heather #1 is due for some payback.  So they head over to Heather #1’s house and prepare a “hangover remedy” for her, however, the actual goal is to make her throw up.

Unbeknownst to Veronica, Jason slips Heather #1 a mug with some type of cleaner in it instead of what she had mixed up.  Of course, this leads to a very dead Heather #1.  After a brief moment of freaking out, they quickly come up with a plan to make it look like a suicide; complete with a suicide note (luckily Veronica can copy Heather #1’s writing perfectly).

You would think that with what just happened Veronica would want to steer clear of Jason; but instead she is just as smitten with him as before.  However, as the story progresses, things get even more complicated and twisted.  Leading to Veronica finally realizing that Jason’s idea of right and wrong and hers are completely different. 

I really enjoyed this film; both Winona and Christian were amazing.  It’s from 1989, which means it was quite early in both of their careers.  However, you wouldn’t know that by watching it.  They are both very skilled and have incredible chemistry together.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Veronica – “What is your damage Heather.”

Heather McNamara – “F*ck me gently with a chainsaw.”

Veronica – “Does it not bother you that everyone at this school thinks you’re a piranha?”

Veronica – “How very.”

Veronica – “Really.  That thing you pulled in the caf today was pretty severe.”

Jason – “Yeah, well, the extreme always seems to make an impression.”

Veronica – “No, my life’s not perfect.  I don’t really like my friends.”

Jason – “Yeah, I uh, really don’t like your friends either.”

Veronica – “It’s just like they’re people I work with and our job is being popular and sh*t.”

Jason – “Maybe it’s time to take a vacation.”

Veronica – “I can’t believe it; I just killed my best friend.”

Jason – “And your worst enemy.”

Veronica – “Same difference.”

Jason – “What are we gonna tell the cops?  F*ck it if she can’t take a joke Sarg?”

Jason – “This is the last thing she’ll ever write, she’s gonna want to cash in on as many fifty cent words as possible.”

Jason – “Seven schools in seven states and the only thing different is my locker combination.”

Veronica – “So we killed them didn’t we?”

Jason – “Of course.”

Jason – “Your true feelings were too gross and icky for you to face.”

Veronica – “Are we going to prom or to hell?”

Veronica – “If you were happy every day of your life, you wouldn’t be a human being; you’d be a game show host.”

Random Stuff:

I swear, Winona just doesn’t seem to age.  She is just as beautiful now as she was back then.

You might get the feeling that Christian is channeling Jack Nicholson in this movie.  However, Christian probably put it best when he said “I’m not doing it on purpose, that’s just the way I talk”.

“Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads” is an extra that was filmed in 2001.  It has interviews with some of the cast and crew.  It’s interesting to hear what they have to say about their experiences so many years later.

Jan

P.S.  Comments are welcomed.  Scroll towards the bottom of the page (below the spoiler section) to where it says “Click Here to Make a Comment”.  Or on entries from previous days there is a comment box.

Following is additional information about the show that contains spoilers.  If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.

I loved the ending, I think it’s better than the original one they had planned (they talk about it in the extra mentioned above).  It’s very suspenseful and you really don’t know how far it will go.  Will the entire school get blown up or will Veronica save the day?  I was shocked when Jason flips her off and she shoots off his finger.  Where did she learn to shoot like that?

It was great when Veronica took the red bow off of Heather Duke, thereby, taking the leadership for herself.  Then she proceeds to make plans with Martha (the very overweight and unpopular girl) to hang out and watch movies together on prom night.

 As you can probably guess a movie with a name liked Wristcutters would have something to do with suicide. The screenplay is based on the short story “Kneller’s Happy Campers” from Etgar Keret’s book “The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God”.

Zia (Patrick Fugit) is depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend. So he decides that life is no longer worth living. However, he figures that his apartment needs to be spotless before he ends it all. He thoroughly cleans it, even going so far as to water all his plants. Then he goes into the bathroom and slits his wrists.

Now he finds himself in a new place. One where people that commit suicide end up. It’s a whole lot like his former life, but a bit worse. It’s a barren desert like place and everything is rundown. The people still have visible reminders of how they killed themselves (for example a guy that shot himself in the head has a big old whole in the top of it where the bullet came out). Oh, and one other thing, no one is capable of smiling.

Zia meets a guy in a bar, Eugene (Shea Shigham) and they become friends. Their method of killing time when they are not working is hanging out at the bar and drinking a whole lot of beer. As it turns out, all of Eugene’s family had committed suicide also (mother, father and little brother). So now they all live together in this very strange afterlife.

Zia continues to be depressed and contemplates trying suicide again. However, he’s afraid he will end up in a place even worse. Then he finds out his former girlfriend Desiree “offed” herself about a month after he did. He then decides what he really needs to do is go find her. It takes a bit of convincing, but Eugene is talked into going with him.

Along the road they come across a hitchhiker, Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon). She is searching for the “People in Charge” since she thinks she is there by mistake and wants to find a way home. They decide to give her a lift. As they travel along looking for Desiree and the “People in Charge” they meet some rather unusual people and find a camp run by a guy named Kneller (Tom Waits), where unusual things tend to occur.

I really enjoyed this movie. It’s a dark comedy with an interesting premise. The three main actors were great. It must have been tough to make their characters interesting and portray emotion without ever breaking a smile. You felt a real sense of friendship between Zia and Eugene. Shea’s Russian accent was amazing, you would never guess he is American.

A couple of my favorite scenes (without being too spoilery):

Under the passenger seat of Eugene’s car is basically the equivalent of a black hole. Anything you drop under there disappears forever. Zia keeps accidentally dropping Eugene’s sunglasses and guess where they go, yup under the seat. I love their bickering afterwards; it’s a funny scene.

When Eugene drives away from the pump at the gas station not realizing that Zia hadn’t taken the nozzle out of the gas tank. Which results in the nozzle and hose being ripped off the pump. Apparently that type of thing happens all the time, they even have a form you have to fill out. Giving personal info and also explaining what you were thinking about that caused you to forget to remove it. I guess bureaucracy exists everywhere.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Zia – “Soon after I killed myself, I found a job here at Kamikaze Pizza.”

Zia – “Who could think of a better punishment, really? Everything’s the same here. It’s just a little worse.”

Eugene – “Then why is he looking at me like that?”

Zia – “’Cause you’re staring at him like you need a f*cking taxicab.”

Eugene – “Afternoon Lady.”

Mikal – “Where you guys going?”

Zia – “East-ish.”

Mikal – “Who the hell likes being stuck in a place where you can’t even smile?”

Eugene – “Man, are you doing that intentionally to hurt me?”

Mikal – “Didn’t he already talk to his mom this morning?”

Zia – “Yeah, but, supposedly, that’s, uh, normal in Russia.”

Mikal – “I don’t think that’s normal anywhere.”

Zia – “Eugene, you know, I love you, man, but you can be an @sshole.”

Eugene – “What the f*ck was that? Oh, man. You didn’t take out the nozzle?”

Eugene – “No sh*t. What other color could someone named Desiree like but turquoise?”

Eugene – “In-f*cking-credible!”

Kneller – “I think I slept on my ear wrong. Do I look asymmetrical to you at all?”

Kneller – “You haven’t seen a dog? His name’s Freddy.”

Zia – “You looked for him while laying in the middle of the road?”

By the way, the character of Eugene is partly based on Eugene Hutz the singer for “Gogol Bordello”. In fact three of their songs can be heard during the movie. One of which is the song they are all singing along to in the car “Through the Roof n’ Underground”.

Three of the musicians on the movie soundtrack committed suicide; Ian Curtis (singer for Joy Division), Del Shannon and David Edward Sutch (aka Screaming Lord Sutch). A fourth died from a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol; Gram Parsons.

Jan

P.S. Comments are welcomed. Scroll towards the bottom of the page (below the spoiler section) to where it says “Click Here to Make a Comment”. Or on entries from previous days there is a comment box.

Following is additional information about the movie that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.

Mikal was right all along; she didn’t belong there. I liked how Kneller helped Zia out by stealing his file so he could go back home. The smile at the end was so appropriate. No words were needed; their smiles said it all.

 Julian Po (Christian Slater) is on his way to the ocean when his car breaks down. He walks to the nearest town and checks into a hotel for the night. Expecting to leave the next morning, but things don’t go as planned, so he decides that he will stay a while longer.

The town he stopped in is very small so obviously they are all very intrigued by the stranger that has arrived. The Mayor and Sheriff are suspicious of him and decide that he should be under constant surveillance. Everywhere Julian goes he is under scrutiny by the townspeople and the gossip surrounding him just keeps growing.

Finally, they can’t take it anymore and confront him in the diner. After being pestered by them and being accused of terrible things, he finally breaks down and tells them that he came there to kill himself. This is a turning point for the townspeople; they start going out of their way to be nice to him.

Of course their way of being nice is pretty invasive. Such as, the mayor just walking into his room unannounced to ask him to come over for dinner. Or when he goes out for a walk a whole bunch of people follow him. They also start giving him all kinds of gifts, ranging from homemade food to a new suit.

Julian starts having all kinds of random people dropping by his hotel room to visit him and try to find out why he wants to kill himself. They also start telling him about their life and/or troubles and he ends up inadvertently giving them advice (at least they take it as such, even though that’s not what he intended).

One of the people that visits him is Sarah (Robin Tunney). She said she had dreamt about him and has been waiting for him all her life. She is beautiful and he is instantly drawn to her. He starts to think that maybe there is something to live for after all.

Things start getting even stranger as the people in the town start giving him advice about the best way to kill himself. One of the elderly ladies has started a raffle so people can bet on the day they think he will do it. The guy that runs the hotel even gives him a gun that he can use.

It’s a journey of discovery for both Julian and the townspeople. After talking to him and telling him their secrets many begin to reassess their lives and start making changes. Some for the better, some maybe not so good.

Christian was terrific. As you can imagine the main focus is on his character, either when he’s by himself taking into his tape recorder or when he is dealing with the rather eccentric people of the town. He is able to keep a scene interesting even when there isn’t much going on. His interaction with the other actors was equally as good. I particularly enjoyed him with Lucy (Cherry Jones). Her character couldn’t hear or speak, but that didn’t stop them from having some wonderful scenes together.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Julian – “Of all the places I’ve never been it’s the one that I love the most.”

Mayor – “Julian P … o. Jesus, what the hell kind of name is that?”

Julian – “Anyway, I’m pretty used to being anonymous. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that’s how I am. I don’t think it’s possible to be anonymous here.”

Julian – “Why is everyone in this town looking at me? What am I some kind of freak?”

Lilah – “Must be something in the water around here makes everyone a moron.”

Pastor Bean – “Have you ever done this before?”

Julian – “Killed myself?”

Pastor Bean – “No, no. Of course, you’re alive, aren’t you?”

Julian – “I’m not going to kill myself today. You can all just go home.”

Towns Person – “Well, there’s always tomorrow.”

Julian – “Everyone’s time is short. Yours too. It’s an illusion that we have forever to live.”

Julian – “We always wait too long to do the things we want to do and then, before you know it, it’s too late.”

Mr. Potter – “I want you to wear my suit Mr. Po. I want to be part of your adventure.”

Julian – “Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m not gonna do it today. Why are you guys still following me?”

Walter – “A guy who’d kill himself might lie.”

Julian – “I think God … if there even is a God has a lot to apologize for, and he does it in heaven. And if he doesn’t feel like apologizing then you’re in hell.”

Old Woman – “Mr. Po, hang on a few more days, make me a rich woman.”

Julian – “A lot of things I regret but nothing more than the things I was too scared to do.”

Jan

P.S. Comments are welcomed. Scroll towards the bottom of the page (below the spoiler section) to where it says “Click Here to Make a Comment”. Or on entries from previous days there is a comment box.

Following is additional information about the movie that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.

I think it was an interesting twist at the end when Julian has changed his mind about killing himself but the townspeople aren’t happy about it. Basically, they said he should keep his word. The whole town trusted him and felt sorry for him and it’s time for him to do what he said he would.

Seeing Lucy with all of Julian’s stuff around her bedroom as she plays his tapes (which she can’t hear). It was so touching and sad. I think she was the only one in the town that really cared about him and she’s the only one that can’t actually get comfort from listening to the tapes he made.