Oh, Mel. What A Cut Up!

So, it seems that delightful Mel Gibson chap is in trouble once again for something he said....
Remember -- a few years back, Mel got nailed for blasting Jewish people during a drunken traffic stop. Luckily for him, no one taped that exchange, and he could blame it all on alcohol. THIS time around, however, Mel's been caught ON TAPE yelling at some lady and throwing around the dreaded N-word.


I have heard the recording that's sparked so much controversy, and it's pretty brutal. Seems Mel's clever lady hid some microphones and said whatever she needed to in order to set the dude off to the Nth degree (I guess living with him and his temper for several years has given her the ability to do so at will). I have no idea what she really said to make Mel so mad, but the tape IS, admittedly, pretty disturbing.


See, here's the thing: Mel is REALLY DARN ABUSIVE in those tapes. I mean, he uses horrible, horrible language on Gold Digg-- Er, I mean Oksana Grigiorvia. Female-oriented insults that start with the letters S, W, and C are spit at her with a fury unknown to most mortals as Mel demands services of her that are best not named in polite conversation. I was like, "YOWZA, this guy is practically speaking in tongues, he's so upset!" Listen to the tape (warning: very foul language). Mel is almost on the verge of a friggin' seizure with all that rage.


So, he's frighteningly abusive in the recording; we've established that. Why, then, is all the media attention on the fact that he threw out the N-word at one point? Look, I'm not saying THAT part of his outburst was OK or anything. It's just that I was more surprised by the seething hatred for women that was so audible in the tape, not Mel's passing racist comment. Mel sounds like he wants to KILL that chick, and yet the only thing anyone says about it is, "Did you hear he used the ----- word??? EEEEEK!!!"

If he were to burn down an orphanage, but throw out a few racial slurs in the process, I wonder what the media coverage would look like. Would the TV news only mention his racial tirade and not the fact that he just killed 47 children? It's just funny to me that PC-ism can obscure other deeply unsettling problems so easily. Kinda strange.

But the REAL reason why this Mel Gibson saga is on my mind has nothing to do with racism, women, or orphans. No, I'm thinking more today about beavers. Yes, the mighty and noble beaver. Specifically, a film called The Beaver.


See, it stars none other than Mel Gibson, and recently wrapped up production. This Jody Foster-directed movie is about a guy who can only communicate with others through the use of a hand puppet beaver. Isn't that an awesome idea??? It's crazy, hilarious, and sad -- just like Mel himself. I GOTTA SEE THE BEAVER!!!

But there's a problem: Mel's whole racist-abusive-divorce deal that's going on. If the smoke from this crap doesn't clear soon, The Beaver may never see the light of day. No distribution company is going to take the risk of releasing a film starring a guy who everyone suddenly hates...even if it IS a great idea. That's not fair. Why should I be denied the chance to see The Beaver? What, just because some other people can't look past the fact that its star is a completely insane jerk, I'M supposed to miss out on this film?? How is that logical???

Just listen to the IMDB description of The Beaver's plot: "A guy walks around with a puppet of a beaver on his hand and treats it like a living creature." -- That's brilliant!!!

Folks, we must all do our own parts to make sure that The Beaver gets released into theaters. I don't want to have to wait around for five years while it sits on a vault shelf somewhere, only to get a quiet DVD release in the end. I want to see The Beaver NOW! Hopefully, the goodness of Jodie Foster will overcome the badness of Mel Gibson, and this film will become a huge hit. I'm sold on it already.


Anyway, speaking of moral weakness, here's a thriller about being an accessory to murder.

Frailty (2001)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264616/


Netflix description:
Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) approaches FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe) to confess his disturbed family's role in a series of notorious Texas murders in this gripping thriller, which is actor Bill Paxton's directorial feature debut. Meiks's long-tormented conscience unleashes a twisted tale of his father's (Paxton) crazed and abusive behavior and his younger brother's blind complicity. Levi Kreis co-stars as teenage Fenton.

Frailty is a psychological thriller about a single dad in the 1970s who goes nuts one day and thinks that an angel has ordered him to slay several demons who are disguised as people and living around his small Texas town. He drags his two young sons into the enterprise and, of course, one of them has objections. The kid tries to convince his psycho father -- played by the awesome Bill Paxton -- that murderizing random townsfolk is a bad idea, but the dad insists that they're not actually MURDERING anyone; they're merely SLAYING DEMONS, you see. Therefore, it's all OK in the eyes of God.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Everything you just read is actually told in flashback form to an FBI agent investigating a serial killer. See, this jaded FBI dude is sitting around one day at the beginning of the film when Matthew McConaugahey (or, in this film, "Mr. Meeks") comes waltzing in with a story about how his recently deceased brother was actually the killer that the police are looking for. The film THEN launches into the flashbacks in which everything I just told you takes place. See, Meeks IS one of the now-grown sons of the psychotic, demon-slaying dad, and now he's confessing everything. Got it?

Needless to say, there are all sorts of plot twists and megaton reveals, etc, etc, as our hero FBI guy gradually realizes that Meeks is telling the truth (or, IS he???). A bunch of suspenseful stuff happens...scary concepts are explored...and Matthew McConaugahey takes off his shirt for at least one scene.


I won't spoil the twist ending for you, but it's actually rather predictable.

And THAT'S the only real problem that I had with Frailty -- it's just a little too easy to crack. I mean, a truly good psychological thriller ought to wow us with some mind-bending revelation late in the game; Frailty makes its cards too obvious too soon. Otherwise, it's a well-constructed, atmospheric, and at times quite engaging motion picture. I enjoyed this baby pretty much from start to finish, thanks in large part to its strong cast and nice pacing. All of the characters are likable here -- even the murdering psycho dad -- and the whole deal wraps itself up within a reasonable 90-some-odd minutes.

I came close to giving this one a four out of five, since I really do think it's worth checking out for most movie fans; but some parts of Frailty are simply too hokey to push it above the basic "It's Pretty Good" mark. Bill Paxton directs, and you can sense at certain moments that he was just a little too excited to get his turn at the helm -- occasional camera angles feel intentionally artsy...the presentation at times lacks subtlety ....You know, the dude needed to get that first one out of his system.

Overall, though, he does pretty well. And, overall, so does Frailty as a film. Give this bad boy a rental and enjoy the show.

3 out of 5.

b.