STRAIGHT TO HELL
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1987 Jeff Meyer
Seen at the Seattle Film Festival: STRAIGHT TO HELL (USA, 1987) Director: Alex Cox Screenwriters: Alex Cox, Dick Rude Cast: Joe Strummer, Cy Richardson, Dick Rude, Courtney Love, Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, Elvis Costello, Jim Jarmusch, and The Pogues
Certainly one of the most eagerly awaited films at this year's Film Festival was Alex Cox's STRAIGHT TO HELL; Cox has produced two other films, REPO MAN and SID AND NANCY, which garnered both critical and popular acclaim, especially REPO MAN. STRAIGHT TO HELL was advertised as a return to the bizarre humor of REPO MAN, combined with a satire of the "spaghetti western" popularized by Sergio Leone.
Well, great plan, and the sense of humor that Cox used in REPO MAN is much in evidence. What's missing is any semblance of a plot, if only to self-lampoon as it progresses. REPO MAN had a story unfolding, which gave the bizarreness of dialogue so much of its bite. The plot of STRAIGHT TO HELL reminds one more of CASINO ROYALE or THE CANNONBALL RUN; it seems to be an excuse for guest stars to make minute cameos. REPO MAN mixed fantasy and reality to produce a wonderful hybrid of new-wave humor; however, the tiny thread of reality in STRAIGHT TO HELL is lost after the first five minutes, which recount the exploits of three inept hit men and their shrill moll. When they fail to fulfill their contract in Mexico due to oversleeping, they resort to bank robbery, and wind up fleeing to an obscure Mexican ghost town, inhabited by a family of bandits, merchants, repairmen, and hot-dog salesmen who exist on coffee and expresso. Yeah, I know--it sure *sounds* like a winner. The rest of the film takes place in the village, and here is where the film breaks down; ANYTHING can happen, it appears, and thus insanity builds on insanity. The implied satire of Italian westerns occurs in several scenes, but most sequences just get their laughs from being strange, in dialogue and behavior. The problem with this is that the previous scene was strange, the scene before that was strange, etc.... There's nothing to play against, like bouncing a raquetball against a wet sponge. Not that there aren't funny parts.... I really enjoy bizarre humor, and there are some outstanding examples in STRAIGHT TO HELL; the scene where the the local hot dog man is forced to sing "The Wiener Song" at gunpoint would make anyone grin. But this kind of thing is unrelenting, and we really do need some kind of anchor, or the whole thing generates into complete absurdity.
I WILL say that I'd love to get the soundtrack to this film...almost everyone appearing in the film had something to do with the music. The Pogues, in particular, produced a wonderful opening theme that combines with some interesting optical effects to make the best opening credits I've seen this year ("Cruelty and Abuse Consultant"). Most of the well-known actors appear for no more than two minutes: Elvis Costello, Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, and Jim (STRANGER THAN PARADISE) Jarmusch. Of the other actors, I only recognized Joe Strummer from REPO MAN; the others are, I suspect, musicians I just don't recognize (Cy Richardson, Dick Rude, Courtney Love).
This might make a good midnight movie, or something to be watched under the effects of certain illicit substances; but that's not enough to get a thumbs-up from a pillar of the community like me. D (with affection), but let me know if you find a soundtrack!!
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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