Movie Review: Cecil B. Demented

Story: Baltimore's most famous director and screenwriter John Waters has been provoking us and making us laugh for 30 years. I am not sure whether his caricatures have become old hat or whether our society has become his caricatures but sadly his last few films have bend duds. This one is the duddiest. It is supposed to be an attack on the Hollywood system with its sappy productions, director's cuts, and gratuitous violence. But it turns out to be flat, boring, repetitive and except for an occasional flash of fun a big, look at your watch, yawn. The premise is the kidnapping of a Hollywood star of the 'system' and forcing her to appear in Demented's underground film that exposes the horrors of the system and wakes up the people to a new and better film making style. PUHLEEEEEZE! We stayed because I had bought a jumbo combo and the popcorn was really good. We also hoped the film would improve. Sadly, it did not.

Acting: Melanie Griffith (gag)! was more awful than usual and I am not sure that she realized she was in a spoof as the Patty Hearst type kidnap victim. Every one else was over the top and will probably want to delete this film from their resumes. Patty Hearst (who has held a fascination for me since the 70's when she had her 15 minutes of fame with the Symbionese Liberation Army) was fun to see.

Pets: 2 cats and a gerbil.

Visual Art: Lots of bad posters.

Soundtrack: Painful loud rap stuff.

Theater Audience: A small group (mostly male) of dedicated Waters fans who were disappointed and one loon in the first row.

Oscar Worthy: NO

Nit Picking Quotient: It was so bad I didn't notice any one thing that was annoying.

Length: 88 minutes

LOBO HOWLS: 3 (1 point for Patty Hearst, 1 point for John Waters hey day, and 1 point because it is the summer).