I saw Kevin Smith speak three years ago at a screening of his then new film Red State. One of the themes he kept touching on was that, in this world, there are the “Why? People” and the “Why Not? People”. You want to try to do something different and the Why People will look at you askance and say “Why?” whereas the Why Not People will look you straight on, smile, and say “Why not?”
Tusk is a film that could only ever have been made as a collaboration of a whole lot of Why Not People.
I just saw it earlier tonight and I loved it. It was truly bizarre. There were several points along the way that I started thinking “Nah, this takes me out of the movie. It shouldn’t have been presented like that!” But by the time the movie was over I felt like, no, everything in this movie was exactly right for this movie- it’s just that it would have been completely wrong for any other movie.
Michael Parks and Justin Long are excellent. Johnny Depp is great- if a bit over the top- but, again, his performance is exactly what it should be for this movie. Visually, this is probably Kevin Smith’s best ever. It’s just beautiful to look at the whole time- both the cinematography and the production design (Michael Park’s house is wonderfully dressed).
I kept the OP Spoiler-free for anyone who just wanted to read a “Should I see it or not?” blurb.
Feel free to go with Open Spoilers in the Replies.
It was an excellent movie…right up to the nonsensical ending. I’m sorry, but this wasn’t a fantasy film for the first 95%, so I just couldn’t buy the “deformed human in a wildlife refuge” ending. No right-thinking human would have considered it, and no animal refuge would have done anything upon hearing such a proposal other than immediately calling the cops.
My appreciation of Kevin Smith has always ranged from fair to middling. I thought Red State was largely terrible, and his born-again pot evangelism just seems embarrassing in general. He seems unduly enamored of hearing himself talk and I find the circle of fanboyism surrounding him irritating and undeserved in a very danecookian way.
He said he was going to make one more movie, a comedy about hockey titled Hit Somebody, and then retire. He ended up not making the movie.
He made a horror movie, Red State, instead and said he was retiring. He ended up making another horror movie, Tusk. And Tusk is supposed to be the first movie in a trilogy.
At various times, he’s said that Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II would be the last of his Jay and Silent Bob movies. But he came back and did another one each time and he’s now saying he’s planning Clerks III.
So the best thing to do is take any of his announcements about future plans with a grain of salt.
On a related note, Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement and then come out of retirement to make another movie four or five times.
Ummmmmm …I am going to conservatively advise that you not see it.
I actually liked it, but I had to get through the entire final scene before liking it. At the opening of the scene, I had the same objections you raised.
Leading up to the ending, I was having trouble imagining what a satifying ending could possibly be. I saw two options: Wallace gets saved and rehabilitated (although still missing limbs) OR Wallace gets a mercy killing, probably at the hand of Lapointe (I did not think he’d get killed by Howe). Neither of these two options appealed to me at all.
I didn’t like the animal refuge sanctuary at first because of how outlandishly unrealistic it was but by the time the tears were streaming down his face I was totally on board. For me, this is a fantasy film. It’s not a fantasy film like Willow or Labyrinth, but it’s somewhat of a Terry Gilliam or Charlie Kaufman dark fantasy. I’d say it’s more similar in tone to Brazil or Being John Malkovich than it is to Hostel or The Human Centipede or any other torture porn film to which it may have some more superficial similarities.
Wallace’s final tearful look at Teddy and Ally as they walk away was, for me, very reminiscent of the end of Being John Malkovich when Craig is forced to watch Maxine and Lotte’s happiness through the infant’s eyes while he is trapped.
So, yeah, I completely understand your objection to the ending. Ultimately, it ended up working for me, though. Any more obvious ending would not have felt very satisfying.
Coincidentally, I just finished listening to the Nerdist podcast in which he talked a bit about this. (I had the same question as you did.)
Here’s the short form:
When he announced that he was retiring after Hit Somebody, it sounds like (from the podcast) that he was tired of the grind of making movies. Write a script. Pitch it to investors. Wait. Pitch it to more investors. Wait. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. If a movie gets made, it’ll have to make a certain amount of money (a high amount) to recover the marketing costs, and maybe there would be changes on the way.
Doing “Red State” was a different process, because they were able to cover costs through overseas sales. He was able to film it quickly and edit it quickly (in fact, at the end of shooting, he threw a party for the crew and showed them a cut of the movie. That’s how quick the process went).
Then, he was allowed to take it out on the road and do his talks with fans, which he always likes to do.
So he was able to shoot the movie the way he wanted, with minimal interference, and make the investors happy. All in about eight months (if I remember the podcast right).
“Tusk” was inspired by a podcast he did with his friend Moser. He said you could relisten to the show and pinpoint the moment that they decided they had a movie idea. The process this time was even easier and a lot more satisfying.
This led to his next movie “Yoga Hosers,” which he’s in the process of filming now and will be done in four months.
If you’re a creative type, go get the Nerdist podcast. He goes into detail, not about the movie (which I was expecting and fearing) and instead got into the idea that you have more power now to create something that someone would want to see without worrying about rules or focus groups or chasing dollars (which KS admits he did at one time).
Now, about the pot. He said it does not help him be more creative. What it does do is silence the critics in his head. For example, he wanted to cast his daughter in “Yoga Hosers,” based on her performance in “Tusk.” [Fill in the raft of shit he’d get for that decision here.]
A hit of weed later, he’s able to brush that aside and get on with the work.
So, short form, he’s now able to do the movies he wants, do them quickly, and have fun doing it. Why quit?
Two additional things:
“Hit Somebody” might become a series. Didn’t give details, just said “HS” and series.
He has submitted the Clerks 3 script to Miramax so the decision is in their hands.