THE HOUSE OF YES (Miramax - 1997) Starring Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze Jr., Genevieve Bujold Screenplay by Mark Waters, adapted from the stage play by Wendy MacLeod Produced by Beau Flynn and Stefan Simchowitz Directed by Mark Waters Running time: 90 minutes
***1/2 (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: A-
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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If you've seen any number of American independent films in recent years, you've no doubt run across the ubiquitous PARTY GIRL herself, Parker Posey, who seems to literally appear in every third recent movie. From early 1997 releases like Christopher Guest's WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, Greg Motolla's THE DAYTRIPPERS, Richard Linklater's subUrbia, and Peter Cohn's DRUNKS to upcoming films such as Jill Sprecher's feature debut CLOCKWATCHERS and a reunion with Hal Hartley in HENRY FOOL, Ms. Posey is, along with the similarly-prolific Lili Taylor, the reigning Queen of the Indies, and has been extremely impressive throughout her career with her sassy, infectiuously energetic and dynamic performances. Her astonishing vivacious turn in Mark Waters' debut film THE HOUSE OF YES, for which she was awarded a Special Outstanding Performance prize earlier this year at the 19th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, is the pivotal performance in her career, and should serve as her big breakout role into mainstream recognition and future stardom.
While most black comedies typically feature one or two decidedly eccentric characters in order to heighten the inherently perverse natures of their plots, the witty THE HOUSE OF YES deliciously takes this concept a bit further -- virtually every character in the film is quirky and bizarre to varying degrees except for cheery, sweet-natured donut shop waitress Lesly (Tori Spelling), who acts as the audience surrogate and plays as the interloper into the strange, deranged world of the Pascal family. Set on a stormy Thanksgiving evening, conventionally handsome Marty Pascal (Josh Hamilton) returns home with new fiancee Lesly, looking every bit like a fresh-faced wholesome young couple, to his strikingly odd and scandalous clan: dim and overly eager-to-please younger brother Anthony (Freddie Prinze Jr.), supercilious and largely-preoccupied matriarch Mrs. Pascal (Genevieve Bujold), and, most notably, his recently deinstitutionalized and highly emotionally volatile twin sister (Ms. Posey), who goes by the name Jackie-O and is completely obsessed with the former First Lady to the point of trotting about the house sporting a pageboy hairdo, in various looks immortalized by the late Jacqueline Onassis: pink Chanel ensemble complete with pillbox hat, or simple black dress with strand of pearls. Jackie-O's fixations aren't limited to the late First Lady; acerbic and hysterical while preparing for Marty's return, she greets her twin brother at the front door with a euphoric, impassioned embrace befitting that of a savior, virtually vaulting herself into his arms. When the inclement weather knocks out the power and causes a hasty postponement of Thanksgiving dinner, Mrs. Pascal retreats into the darkness, leaving the four young characters to make do for the remainder of the evening, and by candlelight the sordid family secrets of Lesley's future in-laws are gradually revealed.
The antecedent of THE HOUSE OF YES as a 1990 stage play penned by Wendy MacLeod (which had a long, successful run in San Francisco) is clearly evident from the single locale and the heavy reliance on dialogue to drive the plot forward. However, despite a faithful adaptation of Ms. MacLeod's play by Mr. Waters in his screenplay, the stage roots of THE HOUSE OF YES do not prove to be restrictive -- indeed, attempts to greatly open up the story for the film medium would likely destroy the claustrophobic tone set early in the film and shatter the metaphoric barrier separating the unique world of the Pascal family from normalcy, undermining the depiction of their disturbed behaviour and resulting in their appearance coming off more as ridiculous than distinctively quirky.
While THE HOUSE OF YES is a highly stylized and peculiar black comedy with a truly inspired storyline, its clear strength is its wholly original dialogue. The film's astonishingly clever banter is wicked, biting, and hysterical, and Mr. Waters' makes a fine feature debut with his confident, assured helming of THE HOUSE OF YES, with some inspired kinetic camera work and crisp cutting of the terrific verbal interplay in an effectively precise, rhythmic pattern. An inspired and inventive opening sequence is wonderfully realised. Mr. Waters' ability to guide the film between viciously comic and stirringly dramatic scenes are most impressive and clearly evident, and his solid, capable work here heralds him as a promising new talent.
While the remainder of the ensemble cast of THE HOUSE OF YES is generally solid, there can be no doubt that this film essentially belongs to Ms. Posey, who dominates throughout with her wonderfully entertaining and captivating performance. An on-screen dynamo with remarkable intensity, she can turn from delightfully witty and hilariously cruel to remarkably unstable and utterly pathetic on a dime, and Ms. Posey's rendition of Jackie-O is a completely fascinating creation: a needy, fragile, and helpless mentally ill young woman with a barely-suppressed hysteria who nonetheless lords over the household by sheer audacity. Hers is easily the most interesting character in the film, and one is left wanting more when she's offscreen. Her delivery of the volley of stinging barbs at Ms. Spelling's hapless character is brilliant -- savage and gleeful. It's a stunning performance, highlighted by Ms. Posey's customary fierce energy and mercurial appeal, and one which should catapult her into the limelight.
"Independent film is where the heart is and where the stories are," Ms. Posey once commented, but after her triumphant performance in the vastly entertaining THE HOUSE OF YES, it will be interesting to observe how she reacts when Hollywood begins to pursue her with a vigor.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "The separate forms of social behaviour that we associate with film and television are also starting to break down..." - Jonathan Rosenbaum, 1979
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