A MAN WITH A PLAN
A film review by Ben Guaraldi
Copyright 1995 Ben Guaraldi
Directed by: John O'Brien Photographed by: John O'Brien Written by: John O'Brien Edited by: John O'Brien Starring: Fred Tuttle, Bill Blachly
I have seen many an independent film all made with a spare budget at breakneck speed, driven only by the director's will to create, yet the most outstanding example of this art I have seen recently was A MAN WITH A PLAN, a semi-fiction film made by John O'Brien.
From its opening credits we are stunned and entertained by O'Brien's originality and irreverence. We see "HERO (choose not more than ONE):" in bright, friendly blue and white with a few names after it. A red X is placed next to Fred Tuttle, completing the patriotic metaphor. With this simple satiric element, O'Brien sets the tone for his absurd political commentary; an especially refreshing movie in the light of THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, the 1996 Presidential race, and the recent shutdown of the American government.
The story is tried and true: for some reason, an unknown underdog political candidate runs for an office he cannot hope to obtain. By fighting his way against incredible odds that would destroy a lesser man, he wins (of course). Pretty formula. The motivation here? Money. Pretty standard. The candidate? Here is where we begin to deviate: Fred Tuttle (played by none other than O'Brien's neighbor Fred Tuttle) is not young, not attractive, not wildly intelligent, but he does have wit, charm and charisma. He is desperately in need of money to repair his farm, to buy a new hip for his father, and do the many other things that his social security check cannot provide for, and he figures entering the government is the only way he can make a six-figure salary without a college education (surely this comment is intended as a tribute to the intelligence of our representatives). While Tuttle gives us mountains and mountains of physical, intellectual and social commentary and comedy, he remains true to the believability of his character, showing that he is a talented performer though he may be untrained in any art, performance or otherwise.
Herein lies the brilliance of O'Brien's work: its unprofessionality. In Italian neo-realism we see what amateur actors can bring to a picture, but A MAN WITH A PLAN takes that much further. Nothing here seems professional. The camera work is shaky, unintentionally (or so it seems) in the style of cinema verite; it roams without regard to mise en scene, color or lighting, and this yields a documentary style to this obviously fictional work. The acting is clearly improvisational, sometimes with long, confusing passages of dialog, leading to an unclear point. (Some of the off-the-cuff remarks are great, though, such as this exchange between Tuttle and the reporter: "So, you're going to put a chicken in every pot?" "Yup, a chicken in every egg.") The visual effects are simplistic and unrealistic, most markedly in the scene where Tuttle decides to run for the House, seeing a government building masquerading as his father's hat in a scene which looks distinctively like Terry Gilliam's Python animations.
But this amateurism imbues the film with a sort of freedom, both giving it realism through its documentary style and absurdity through its loony comedy. The former is needed to let the latter remain plausible and the latter gives the movie its distinct impression and hold on the viewer's memory.
And with this indelible marker poised over his viewers mind, O'Brien imparts his ideology. By showing Bill Blachly (Tuttle's incumbent opponent, played by (you guessed it) Bill Blachly) as a rotten scoundrel who will do anything to win the election, we see that O'Brien is disgusted with government as it stands, and figures that it would be better to let regular people like Fred Tuttle, who are truly representative of the people, run our country.
All of this is communicated with force and with comedy, neither of which would have been possible in O'Brien's unique way without his rejection of the high gloss, high glitz archetype of a Hollywood movie. Here O'Brien has created a small masterpiece, with neither the studios nor their ethic, both of which can destroy art for commerce. A MAN WITH A PLAN, though technically lacking from time to time and often quite camp and not a little silly, is a grand tribute to the tenets of independent film and the artistic core of all great filmmaking.
So, where can you see this film? Sadly, at the moment, nowhere. John O'Brien is feverishly working to find a distributor, submitting it to contests and clearinghouses everywhere. If this plan fails, he hopes to follow the Presidential primaries with screenings, capitalizing on the political mind-set, which means your only option would be to sit tight and wait for John O'Brien to ride into town. But, have no fear, this zephyr of independent spirit certainly will.
-- Ben Guaraldi b.guaraldi@dartmouth.edu http://coos.dartmouth.edu/~jaundice/
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