short film reviews, criticism, and occasional musing.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Mr. Brooks (2007, USA)

Just so we're PERFECTLY clear - Mr. Brooks (Kevin Costner) is a wealthy box company owner. He also has an alternate personality (William Hurt) who tells him to kill people. After killing some people one night, Dane Cook catches him and begs to be taught how to kill. In the meantime, Mr. Brooks is being chased by multi-millionaire police detective Demi Moore, who is going through a really nasty divorce with that guy Samantha used to fuck on Sex in the City while possibly also being stalked by another serial killer who just escaped from prison. Oh, and there's also trouble at home, as Mr. Brooks' teenage daughter has just quit college and is hiding some shady secrets of her own (she's pregnant! and maybe some other stuff!).

Got it?

Good. Now for some questions -

1) Exactly how many serial killers are running around Portland at any particular point in time?
2) Why is it still acceptable, in this day and age, to show Kevin Costner naked?
3) Or for that matter, hire Demi Moore to act in a film?
4) How is it that no one notices the 5-minute stretches where Mr. Brooks is conferring with his alter ego? Do they just assume that he's really slow?
5) Why does an uber-rich box company owner drive around in a 1980's Volvo? Also . . . an uber-rich box company owner?
6) When did William Hurt enroll at the Shatner school of enunciation?
7) How does one go about buying a cemetery for investment purposes?

Okay, I'll stop. In truth, Mr. Brooks is a work of stupid genius, and it's completely fucking hilarious. It's not just bad, it's insane, and begging for some MST3K treatment like nothing I've seen since perhaps Mindhunters. But to be serious for a moment, I must admit I'm relieved to know that I am exempt from being stalked and killed by Mr. Brooks by virtue of the fact that I don't own a vacuum cleaner.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home