If you asked a critic: Director vanity projects, body swap movies
You didn’t ask, but I’m going to tell you anyway.
The late great Roger Ebert wrote a recurring column, “Movie Answer Man,” responding to movie questions from his loyal readers nationwide.
Readers of the Coeur d’Alene Press apparently aren’t as loyal! Because we hardly ever receive emails with movie questions. That won’t stop us. We make up the questions, then The Press’ long-tenured critic takes a shot at the answers.
With “Megalopolis” and the “Joker” sequel struggling at the box office, what should we think about the current state of auteur-driven filmmaking? — Jamison Fanciful, Hayden Lake
Jamison, I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for someone to write in and ask me about auteur cinema! This is officially a serious art, high-brow column!
Generally, I support “big swings” by talented filmmakers, and I’d rather see artists take risks than be forever stuck making impersonal franchise films. Unfortunately for Francis Ford Coppola and “Megalopolis,” the legendary filmmaker gambled a whole lot of his own money on a project that needed more, um, constructive input from outside voices. No matter the auteur, filmmaking remains a collaborative medium. Sure, many movies become watered-down, generic products because of studio executive notes and test audience scores. But occasionally, it might also be OK for the guy who made “The Godfather” to listen when someone asks, “What the (expletive deleted) are you doing?”
In the case of Todd Phillips and the vitriolic reaction to “Joker: Folie a Deux,” I would paraphrase a notable line from this particularly wretched corner of the DC Universe: The studio got exactly what it deserved. Phillips’ first “Joker” wasn’t a particularly insightful creative vision. It played more like Scorsese-lite for me. Regardless, the movie made a billion dollars, won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar and attracted some weirdo superfans along the way.
With all that success, Warner Bros. gave Phillips a giant pile of money to do whatever he wanted. This time, that meant a pseudo-musical courtroom drama that interrogates the cultural reaction to the first film. Honestly, I’d give Phillips a ton of credit if I thought he knew what he was doing. The reaction to “Folie a Deux” is so bad, Phillips might go back to his other authorial moniker: “From the director of ‘The Hangover’ Trilogy.”
The Netflix machine told me to watch “It’s What’s Inside,” and I couldn’t keep all the Gen Z body-swapping nonsense straight. Can you recommend a less confusing body swap movie? — Rachel Genzeer, Athol
I don’t want to sound like too much of an Old Millennial here, but my general beef with “It’s What’s Inside” involves its unmemorable Gen Z cast and the supposed “critiques” of their generational social dynamics. It’s a fun enough movie, I guess, but at least the similarly plotted “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (not a body swap movie to be clear) from 2022 included a charismatic cast (Rachel Sennott, Amandla Stenberg, etc.)
As far as good body swap movies go, I’m pretty vanilla in my recommendations. Both “Freaky Friday” movies are good! The one I’d recommend to more adventurous moviegoers would be “Possessor” from 2020, but that one comes with a whole bunch of extreme violence/body horror courtesy of Brandon Cronenberg.
If you don’t mind animation, one of the best films in the genre is “Your Name,” from Japanese director Makoto Shinkai. That one landed on my Top 10 list in 2017.
Ooh, I just realized it’s been a few weeks since I wrote about my love for Nicolas Cage. Perfect timing! The best body swap movie is 1997’s “Face/Off” from John Woo. We keep getting teased about a potential sequel, and if Hollywood is already gifting us “Freakier Friday” with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in 2025, then the time is now for more Caster Troy freakouts.
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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.
This image released by Lionsgate shows a scene from "Megalopolis."