Good but not great movie bears a lot of the hallmarks of a Coen Bros movie, particularly in the movie's tone which is semi comedic, semi serious. I can't really explain it, but the film really moves and feels like a Coen Bros film...but without the luster or shiny glossy veneer that the Coen Bros usually put on their films--No Country For Old Men aside. Michael Rappaport's character even seems to be right on the same wavelength as other leading characters in several of the brothers other films such as Tim Robbins in The Hudsucker Proxy or Brad Pitt's in Burn After Reading. All three kind of share this kind of dimly, upbeat world view that can't be shaken despite all the crap that keeps getting thrown at them by everyone around them....that is until they're completely shaken and their spirits completely crushed only to be reborn anew, which also happened to be the character arcs of the main characters in both The Hudsucker Proxy and Burn After Reading so this all tracks. In re-watching this movie tonight for the first time in a good decade plus, the real chief flaw in it is how underwritten, or i guess underwhelming Michael Jeter's villain is here. My memory of the movie had a more flamboyant villain and Jeter's character doesn't seem to be quite present enough to make as big an impression as he should in order to be the big bad guy that Rappaport must defeat. John Caroll Lynch fares a bit better as the Elvis like henchman, but his character also doesn't get much definition--but at least he gets some sequences in which he gets to properly snarl and be villainous, but without much by way of character definition, its hard to really care about either of the two bad guys here which kind of takes some of the sting out of the movie. I did really enjoy Rappaport's performance tho. He's not always so well regarded as an actor by people I know despite having been quite good in a fair number of films over the years, and between this and his excellent lead role in the film "Special" he's someone who honestly may be overlooked as an actor. The movie would not work at all if you didn't buy his shifts from happy go lucky to despondent to vindictive but he nails the role...and frankly his speech in the ring on "the evils of a crooked spine" should be better known in general. All that said, there are some serious flaws in here, but its worth a look especially if you're a fan of either wrestling gimmicks or Rappaport or just want a look at what a Coen Brothers movie would look and sound like without either brother at the helm.
Review of The Naked Man
The Naked Man
(II) (1999)
I like it but its more of a mixed bag than i had remembered it being.
4 January 2018