If you saw the movie Cop Out, you probably thought Kevin Smith was finished. Or, if you've never liked him, you probably think he never started. I consider myself a fan of his work, but like the self-deprecating Smith, I have no problem acknowledging that he's a hit and miss filmmaker. Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Dogma are his best films, and I'm happy to say that his latest film Red State, while not perfect, is in the same league. It's a little hard for me to review this film, because film criticism is clearly not my thing, and as I've said, I'm a fan of the guy. I don't really want to focus on the negative aspects of it, because I'm just happy he made a good movie. There's a good chance that I'm just as deluded as one of Michael Parks' church (cult) members in the movie, supporting every decision that Smith makes while he rambles on about it incessantly on a stage (altar).
It's best to go into Red State without knowing too much about the plot, so all I will say is that it's a dark as fuck satire inspired by Fred Phelp's Westboro Baptist Church (God Hates Fags) and the siege of the Branch Dividian compound in Waco, Texas. It's part horror film, part action film. Kevin Smith isn't much of an action director (why should he be?), but he pulls off the horror surprisingly well. The first act is pretty intense, and is some of his best work as a director. Most of the violence is unsettling, and rarely played for laughs. But thankfully there is still plenty of dark humor throughout the movie, which is inevitable with Smith. During a particularly disturbing scene, one of the church members actually says "Now you watch that gay saliva. If it gets on ya, it can turn ya." Well, I thought it was funny anyway.
I can't imagine that I would've liked this movie nearly as much if Michael Parks hadn't been in it. He deserves all of the praise he's been getting for his performance as Pastor Abin Cooper, the Fred Phelps-like head of the Five Points Church. Parks has always been fun to watch in anything, but if you're like me you probably know him best as Sheriff McGraw from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez movies (From Dusk Till Dawn, Kill Bill, Grindhouse). Here he's playing the villain, which could have easily been a caricature in the wrong actor's hands. And although the character is a murderous lunatic, he comes across as much more of a human being than Fred Phelps ever has. Melissa Leo and John Goodman give good performances as well, but this is Parks' movie. His character's fourteen minute hate sermon in the chapel is the best scene in the film, and it's right up there with the boardroom execution scene in Dogma as one of the best pieces of writing and directing Kevin Smith has ever done. The rest of the film is entertaining enough, but it can never quite top this scene.
My problems with the movie are pretty minor. For instance, I'm not the biggest fan of the constant shaky cam. There are times when it really works, and times when it's just irritating, and I wonder how much of that decision was an attempt to separate the look of the film from Smith's other work. It certainly accomplishes that. Again though, certain scenes are very well shot, and for a Kevin Smith movie, it's pretty impressive. Smith has described the film as "a Tarantino movie by way of the Coen Brothers," (which explains the casting of Parks and Goodman) and I can certainly see what he means by that script-wise, but it actually looks more like a Rob Zombie film. Which isn't a bad thing. The other nitpick I have with the movie is the exposition in the first ten minutes. As we meet the lead characters who have no connection to the church other than they live 30 minutes away from their compound, Smith reminds us three times (outside a funeral, in a classroom, and on TV) that the Five Points Church exists, and that they're batshit insane. This kind of foreshadowing is appropriate for something like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, since it's in the title and we know what we're getting into. But with Red State, I would've preferred that the characters just stumble into this situation without any foreknowledge or expectation, just as we are watching it happen. I understand that Smith might be playing on this horror film cliche, and the audience needs to know what's going on, but bringing up the church as a threat three times kind of takes the steam out of the reveal. Though I suppose I'm taking the steam out of it just by mentioning it here one more time. Again, this is nitpicking, and it doesn't ruin the movie, but I can't deny that it annoyed me.
So, I don't know if this review came off as apologetic or just a sloppy blowjob for Silent Bob. This isn't a great movie, but I do think it's worth seeing. Even if you're not a fan of Smith, it's interesting to see him this far out of his comfort zone. There are critics who think he shouldn't be patted on the back just for trying something different, but fuck them, I think he should. Especially after the horror that was Cop Out. At the very least, Red State shows that there is still a passionate artist inside him. I'm now looking forward to his next movie, Hit Somebody (although if he splits it in two then fuck that movie), and I hope he reconsiders his retirement and continues making small movies with big balls like this. This is obviously a film from the heart that he was dying to make, like Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and even Clerks 2. And it's a shame that the story of the film's distribution and obnoxious Sundance premiere have overshadowed the actual film itself (not that Smith has really helped that). Anyway, check it out, you might enjoy it. But don't kill me if you don't like it...because I am an ex-cult member of the View Askew Church.
Oh and in case you were wondering, the only pop culture reference in the script that I can remember off the top of my head is "craigslist." I think it was pretty light on them, but maybe I need to watch it a few more times. And then maybe I'll also know whether the movie was actually good or not.
-JOHN KINGSTON
Nihilist filmmaker stand-up comedian from the Philadelphia suburbs
