8 HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG
A film review by Martyn C. Winkler
Copyright 1997 Martyn C. Winkler
*** (out of ****)
The directorial debut of screenwriter Tom Schulman can best be described as a dark, wacky comedy; a movie reminiscent of 'nouvelle violence' (think of PULP FICTION), filmed shamelessly in the style of a farcical sitcom. Schulman is probably most known for his Academy Award winning screenplay for DEAD POETS SOCIETY, but is also responsible for writing films ranging from HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS to MEDICINE MAN. For somebody who has been in the movie business for several years already, Schulman is refreshingly energetic and original as a first-time director of his own screenplay. The cast of 8 HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG consists of actors fitting the nouvelle violence theme (Joe Pesci, for example, in a terrific pastiche of his usual type-cast performances), as well as the sitcom style (David Spade, now starring in 'Just Shoot Me'; and the ever-so-familiar-face-but-nobody-remembers-his-name George Hamilton, from such TV-shows as 'Dynasty'). This mix of opposite worlds is a potentially unstable one, but Schulman manages to keep it together and delivers a highly enjoyable and at times even hilarious film.
The plot is as ridiculous as it is inevitable. Hit man/thug Tommy (Joe Pesci) is assigned to deliver the heads of eight dead mobsters to the Mafia-king who ordered their deaths. He neatly wraps up the heads in plastic bags, places them in, yes, a duffel bag and takes the next commercial flight to San Diego. On the plane he meets Charlie Pritchett (Andy Comeau), a flaky student from Baltimore. Charlie is on his way to Mexico, where he plans to spend the week with his girlfriend (Kristy Swanson) and her parents (George Hamilton and Dyan Cannon). It is not very surprising that Charlie turns out to have a similar duffel bag and that the two accidentally switch luggage at the airport, but hey, we'll forgive 'm. The switch is the start of Tommy's attempts to retrieve his heads and of Charlie's adventures in coping with the discoveries of the lost heads throughout the Mexican hotel. Wild chases ensue, not to mention unspeakable acts with cryogenically frozen bodies, or rather...their heads.
Please give the film the benefit of the doubt, though. It is much more intelligent than it sounds, greatly due to the fact that it acknowledges its farcical and contrived situations. It parodies those situations as much as it shamelessly exploits them for what they are: shallow and mostly physical humor. Take for example the scene where Charlie is trying to take one of the lost heads out of a washing machine, hindered by a blind (!) Mexican cleaning lady. It does not often happen that you can feel free to laugh aloud in the cinema, without guilt, at an obviously predictable and unbelievable scene. Again, this is greatly to the credit of the witty screenplay, as well as the light-hearted direction. Large portions of the film have been shot on studio sets, which inadvertently recreate the feeling of television shows, or even the (comic) theater. Furthermore, Schulman mainly uses wipes, from left to right or vice versa, for the cuts between scenes. Normally this is a no-no in modern day cinema, but the wipes give 8 HEADS... a traditional and easy-going television-look. On top of this farcical foundation, the film sporadically jabs at the viewer with darkly satirical moments. Only in a film like 8 HEADS... can an audience burst out in uncontrollable laughter when a thug throws a grandmother off a cliff...from a moving van. And adding to his obvious homage to traditional television (where nobody is killed on screen), Schulman reintroduces the grandmother at the final credits, suffering only from a broken arm and some bruises.
The acting is highly typecast and stereotypical. We have the flaky good-hearted student who turns out to be smart after all, his enchanting girlfriend who grows to love him even more, the stuck up father who still calls his mother every day, his alcoholic wife and not to forget the explosively violent Italian gangsters. However, the characters created and actors cast are purposely flat and unrealistic. They are a satirical reference to the GOODFELLAS and 'Friends' we have grown to know over the years and help to create the surreal setting of the film. They are essential in making the viewer accept the incredibility of it all.
Now, I must admit the film has its weak moments. Certain built-up scenes, screaming almost for a humorous resolution, are left dangling. Characters are introduced, then later ignored. And the 'grand finale' has promising potential, but is eventually disappointing. However, 8 HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG easily makes up for those flaws in its off-beat and highly original concept. 8 HEADS is essentially a tribute to the golden age of television. It inserts stylistic elements of that medium into a twisted version of the modern gangster genre of American cinema. Thus, Schulman has created a surprising, intriguing and -heck, I can say it!- funny movie. It hardly ever happens that a film makes fun of...well...itself!
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* = Do NOT go see this film, or I'll have to shoot you!! ** = Not recommended *** = Recommended **** = Go see this film, or I'll shoot you!!
mwinkle@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
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