Sep. 11, 2007 - Issue #621: Sex in The City 07

Mr Woodcock pulls off funny strange

Sometimes, a Hollywood screwball comedy finds its initial concept, the window through which a couple dozen sight gags might climb through, more dynamic and rewarding than the stupid laughs that fill the trailer to entice audiences to see the film. Equally as possible, a moviegoer finds him or herself fed up with vile humour not anchored to credible cinematic substance and begins to search for more relevant meaning behind an otherwise typical movie.
Surprisingly, these cosmic happenings occcur with modest fervour in newcomer director Craig Gillespie’s rather Oedipal Mr Woodcock. Self-help “it” boy John Farley (Seann William Scott) confronts his traumatic grade school past as he discovers his insufferable former gym teacher Mr Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton) is engaged to his widowed mother (Susan Sarandon).

It’s all too much pressure for John, who has spent the past several years touting inspirational metaphors like “I gave you the raft, you inflated it,” and is determined to foil the perfect image Mr Woodcock has displayed for Mrs Farley. So John heads undercover, accompanying Woodcock on his day-to-day life to spy out his weaknesses, while his pathetic fan and former schoolmate Nederman (Ethan Suplee) digs up dirty evidence about the teacher’s despicable past. What works in Mr Woodcock are brief moments of the abandonment of vulgar humour for a glimpse into the patriarchal unconcious that underlies the narrative. I’m specifically referring to the strange events that occur in the film that don’t necessarily warrant for a predicted audience reaction. Often, such events are diagnosed within character and dramatic conflict, where emotional spectacle befuddles the viewer and transports them away from their initial goal of being entertained.

Mr Woodcock trusts its talent for the most part, particularly Thornton’s startlingly masculine presence as he exerts the character’s intimidating and sexually charged influence on John and his mother. The film allows for this tension to be created, not only in John’s uncomfortable flashback sequences of gym class, but in the constant ballsy dueling between him and Woodcock (including a strange, orally fixated corn-eating contest at a local fair).

As unfunny as several sequences put themselves at risk of being (aside from every scene with the enormously talented Amy Poehler as John’s alchoholic literary agent), Mr Woodcock maintains a fresh but familiar sense of humour as it coasts towards a predictable but satisfying conclusion. Be prepared for the film’s climax as it opens with Sarandon waltzing down a staircase in a tiara and pink prom dress; at first, you’ll think John’s mother has lost it and is expressing some form of Greek-tragedy-style madness, only to discover its logical but absurd significance in the plot.

In other words, come for the comedy, stay for the psychoanalysis. There’s plenty to go around. V

Opens Fri, Sep 14
Mr Woodcock
Directed by Craig Gillespie
Written by Michael Carnes, Josh Gilbert
Starring Billy Bob Thornton,
Sean William Scott, Susan Sarandon

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