Amazing World (1999) User Reviews

So for those of you wondering what a "synecdoche" is....

[bukkiah-1 · 22 February 2010]

....It's a figure of speech where something more inclusive is used to refer to something less inclusive or vice versa, e.g. saying "the law" instead of "a policeman." It's usually pronounced "sa-neck-da-key" instead of "sin-eck-dosh" as the two lesbian protagonists use it. They have lots and lots of conversation in this movie (unlike Quentin Tarantino's famous torrents of dialog, there's no particular payoff to it), not all of it audible what with the iffy technical quality (this looks like it was filmed with Denise Ohio's own camcorder) and non-stop "grunge music" on the soundtrack (I mean, you know, it's like Seattle and all). Anyway our sapphic heroines work for a magazine called "Amazing World," evidently based on "National Enquirer" et al. They're sent out to interview "ordinary people" who claim to be able to hypnotize bees and whatnot. (Years ago a Monty Python sketch managed to spoof such folks in a lot less time. "I understand you can put bricks to sleep. Can you put this one to sleep for us?" "Well, it's asleep already." "How can you tell?" "It's not moving, is it; it's completely still.") When not doing interviews, they spend lots of time bickering (like your stereotypical straight married couple) and (unfortunately only a small bit) making out. To the extent there's a "plot," it concerns a serial killer who of course eludes the stupid police and stalks our gals, leaving messages in their hubcap etc. Eventually there's a climax which with just a little more verve and imagination could have been a great lampoon of every "action flick" we've seen. I won't bother revealing who the killer is, mostly because I personally didn't really care one way or another. The "butch" member of the pair gets a little more "back story" than her partner; she has "issues," such as the apparent disappearance of her previous partner some time back. Periodically she vents her frustrations on a punching bag. (Almost hate to say it, but---yeah, she hits like a girl.) A few supporting characters have semi-interesting moments at times, such as the duo's boss at the magazine (who eerily resembles a young David Byrne) who reveals that he used to work for a "real newspaper" but prefers his current gig because "nobody gets hurt"; sic transit journalism in this country, I guess. There was potentially an interesting story here not so much about the people who work for these publications, who know what they do is "crap" (as the Byrne lookalike puts it) but about the people who read them and why they do.... I did get a little jolt seeing those little cassette tapes that the ladies play in their big red convertible; I must have a ton of those at home in a box somewhere. (Can they be recycled?) By the way the car gets so much screen time it practically deserves a credit. Nice to see a non-rainy Seattle for change... I guess I should include a spoiler, since there's a spoiler warning: None of the people interviewed turns out to be a guy claiming he's really Elvis Presley. That reminds me: if you haven't seen it yet, please rent or buy "Bubba Ho-tep"; best thing directed by Don Coscarelli (of the "Phantasm" series) or starring Bruce Campbell (of the "Evil Dead" series). It's a blast...