CLEAN SLATE
A Film Review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1994 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Dana Carvey, Valeria Golino, James Earl Jones, Michael Gambon, Kevin Pollak, Michael Murphy. Screenplay: Robert King. Director: Mick Jackson. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
When I stepped into the theater to see CLEAN SLATE, I had yet to see any evidence that Dana Carvey might actually be capable of acting. In fact, he seemed incapable of anything but the broadest schtick. His "Saturday Night Live" characters were usually caricatures, and the WAYNE'S WORLD films and the horrible OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS simply regurgitated those characters. So it qualifies as one of the most unexpected surprises of the year that CLEAN SLATE turns out to be an absolutely delightful comedy. As improbable as the concept might seem, director Mick Jackson (THE BODYGUARD) reins in Carvey's tendency towards excess and gives him a real character to work with, and the chance to generate big laughs.
Carvey plays M. L. Pogue, a small-time private eye with a big-time problem. As the result of an explosion, Pogue suffers from a unique form of amnesia which causes him to wake up every morning with no memory of anything which has taken place before he fell asleep. That proves a hindrance professionally, as he is supposed to testify against criminally-connected businessman Cornell (Michael Gambon), but can't remember his testimony. It's also problematic personally, as he seems to be involved with at least two women, one of whom (Valeria Golino) is supposed to be dead. With every passing day, Pogue's mystery continues-- and deepens--until he finds that he can't trust anyone.
CLEAN SLATE is so full of unpredictable pleasures that it's difficult to know where to begin. The greatest is probably the performance of Carvey, in a role analagous in many ways to Bill Murray's in GROUNDHOG DAY. Like Phil Connor, Pogue is trapped in a cycle of repetition and confusion, except that Pogue is the only one who *doesn't* know what's going on; like Murray, Carvey gets a chance to play some low- key scenes that prove he doesn't always have to be a class clown. He gets to play several hysterical scenes based on Pogue's need to improvise every encounter with his friends (including James Earl Jones as a wheelchair-bound district attorney, Kevin Pollak as Pogue's jealous best friend, and Michael Murphy as his doctor), including a surprise birthday party and his eventual testimony against Cornell. However, Carver is equally affecting in moments such as his reaction to discovering that he might be a father, and trying desperately to remember a woman he thinks he loves. The nature of Pogue's condition inevitably limits his character development, but merely watching Carvey react to that situation is endlessly entertaining.
But there is virtually nothing about CLEAN SLATE which isn't quirky, off-handed and charming. Screenwriter Robert King has filled this film with bits that come out of left field, like the sequence where Pogue and his mysterious client attempt to escape Cornell's henchmen with well- aimed rocks, or a couple of unexplained moments when Pogue demonstrates martial arts skills, or Pogue's dog, who suffers from a lack of depth perception. Director Jackson complements the weirdness with visual throwaways like the neck brace James Earl Jones' character wears with a hole for his tie to come through, and the Band-Aid Carvey sports through out the film. CLEAN SLATE is that rare comedy which simply never goes exactly where you expect it to go.
All this would be quite enough to recommend CLEAN SLATE, but it also provides a neatly-polotted little mystery. Occasionally it feels as though King and Jackson are trying to throw in a bit too much (the character of Pogue's ex-wife is particularly unnecessary), which sidetracks the film's energy. However, at the end of CLEAN SLATE I was left without a single plausibility problem.
In the 24 hours since I saw CLEAN SLATE, bits and pieces have popped into my head constantly, prompting spontaneous laughter, and it just keeps growing on me. It wouldn't be surprising, given Carvey's track record and an advertising campaign which can't do it justice, to see CLEAN SLATE make a quick exit from theaters. Then again, there might just be one more surprise coming.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 tabula rasa's: 8.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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