Watch Out

WATCH OUT
Writer:Steve Balderson/Joseph Suglia
Director:Steve Balderson
Starring:Matt Riddlehoover
Availability: DVD Widely Available
Rating:

    Have I mentioned how much I fucking love movies?  Well, if I haven't, then I need to fix this oversight.  I simply adore the power of the medium, and the seemingly limitless possibilities it possesses.  To me, there are no "good" and "bad" films.  I see movies as an extension of a director's personality and vision.  To most people, a film like Plan 9 From Outer Space is a bad movie, but Ed Wood had a true vision that was unlike anything else anyone has ever had before or since.  The films that I hate are the ones by directors who have no vision.  I'm talking about the filmmakers who are either out to make a quick buck, or the ones who simply don't have ideas.

    Steve Balderson is a director who is chock full of ideas.  I first discovered Steve via his black comedy Pep Squad.  His follow-up, Firecracker, was a movie that left me in absolute awe.  The thing was, though, that both films couldn't have been any more different.  The same can be said for the film I'm reviewing tonight.  I'm talking, of course, about his gleefully offensive adaptation of Joseph Suglia's novel Watch Out.  This is a film that will simultaneously blow your mind and clear a room all at the same time.  There are times when this movie echoes the low-brow absurdity of early John Waters, and times when it echoes the pitch black misanthropy of Todd Solondz's work.  In other words, it's another brilliant piece of work from this mad genius.

    Matt Riddlehoover, a prominent figure of independent gay cinema, is nothing short of sensational as Jonathan Barrows, probably one of the most vile, narcissistic characters I've ever seen on screen.  He's a man who is literally in love with himself.  The man is so in love with himself that he even has a blow-up doll made in his likeness.  He's not straight or gay.  He's just so convinced of his own superiority, that he considers everyone else beneath him.  Here is a man who can only get sexual gratification thinking or looking at himself.  You would think spending 90 minutes with this guy would be unbearable, but it couldn't be further from the truth.  The combination of the whip-smart screenplay and Matt's impeccable comic timing make the absurdity of his narcissism absolutely hysterical.

    There really isn't much of a plot to speak of here.  Jonathan heads up to Bentor Harbor, Michigan to be interviewed for a local teaching gig.  They keep giving him the run-around, so he spends most of the film holed up in his seedy motel room, usually engaging in some sort of self-adoration or sexual gratification.  These scenes, especially the blow-up doll scene, are quite explicit, and definitely succeed in making its audience a tad uncomfortable, especially since the inner monologues are usually ranting about how inferior everyone else in the world is.  When not being stuck inside his motel room, he's encountering all the local townsfolk.  Everyone he meets is absolutely infatuated with him, almost to the point of obsession.  He relishes in the opportunity to tear every single one of them down.  He doesn't fuck around with his command of the English language.  His words are sheer poison.

    After an hour of this ugliness, the movie takes a detour, and becomes a different film altogether.  It becomes something much uglier, more absurd.  I would hate to spoil it here, but the final act is very likely to piss a few people off.  It does seem like some of what transpires could exist in Jonathan's head, but it's never really made clear.  In a lesser director's hands, it would reek of desperation.  However, Balderson has such a firm grasp on the material, that not once did I ever felt like he took any missteps.  It's a brave, bold vision, but it all works.

    You have to have a special kind of sense of humor to appreciate what Watch Out does.  This is a very nihilistic comedy that's not afraid to tackle some taboo topics.  In the opening scene, pedophilia and child abuse are played for laughs.  Steve Balderon is a true commanding voice behind a camera.  Not only does he compose some beautifully stylish shots, but he also knows how to command the perfect performances from his actors.  He doesn't make films that play it safe.  Even though his films are all completely different, they all belong to one singular, brilliant mind.  His films are bold, uncompromising, and if there was any justice in the world, he would be a cult film icon, instead of being curiously swept under the rug.  Watch Out is a film that comes highly recommended from me, but if ever a film was truly not for everyone, this would be it.

    Until next time, my fellow freaks and weirdos.