Movie Review: Death Proof
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this movie -- half of the
Grindhouse feature film that came out in theaters --
celebrates and partially recreates brutal sex-and-action movies
that played in bad-neighborhood theaters of the 1960s and '70s.
That means, essentially, loads of swearing, bloody violence,
much talk of sex (none shown, though), vicious and
self-destructive behavior, and revenge. Though a takeoff, this
isn't anything like a goofy
Scary Movie-type parody spoof.
Families can talk about why Quentin Tarantino made this film, and what would be the appeal for anyone outside of his viewing-party circle. Lots of today's cutting-edge moviemakers seem fascinated by trashy exploitation pictures from their childhood, and some commentators claim those down-and-dirty films, ignored or condemned at the time by the mainstream, exhibited more creativity, energy, and daring than conventional Hollywood productions. Do you believe that? Where are the good ideas hiding today, then?
Common Sense Media Review
DEATH PROOF originally was in a two-part concoction called
Grindhouse that was an attempt by tandem directors
Quentin
Tarantino and
Robert
Rodriguez to recreate a double-bill of shabby exploitation
movies of bygone days. Those two are fans of this sort of
grubby cinema (not hardcore porn, but still occasionally rated
X) that used to be shown in the least wholesome Times Square
theaters and drive-in dives of the 1960s and '70s. Mainstream
viewers either didn't get or like the joke, and
Grindhouse died at the box office.
After that, Death Proof, Tarantino's half of Grindhouse, was released all by itself to theaters overseas and on video in the U.S. Without the framing gimmick, it's the equivalent of a punchline with no setup. There is plenty of Tarantino's profanity-jammed, witty/lewd/movie-reference-quoting dialogue plus a slam-bang car-chase action finale, but in the end the film's only real achievement (aside from unnerving any parents who catch their kids watching this) is, halfway duplicating the look and feel of an old grindhouse potboiler.
Though Death Proof is set in the present, with cell phones and text messages and big-name actors, behold what looks like ultra-cheapo, mismatched and faded film stock, emulsion scratches, bad splices, missing scenes, and even a flash of an alternate title at the beginning (the old grindhouse filmmakers would re-release the same junk over and over again, with different titles and ad campaigns, just to make an extra buck). That's cute. For about 45 minutes or so.
The plot is rudimentary, like a few cheese strips under a quart of hot sauce that is Tarantino's scriptwriting. In Austin, Texas, radio DJ Jungle Julie (Sydney Poitier) meets with visiting friends at roadhouse, before they carpool for a girls'-only weekend at one of their father's cabins, with marijuana and maybe a few boys on the agenda.
Also in the roadhouse is Mike ( Kurt Russell), a scarred but charming guy who claims to be a veteran Hollywood stunt driver. There seems to be some complicated stuff being set up, between Mike's banter and the interconnected relationships of all the girls, and Mike even talks the least friendly female -- a tough girl who makes her boyfriend beg for affection -- into giving him a sexy lapdance in front of the crowd.
But Mike's secretly stalking Jungle Julie and her posse. On the road he strikes, in his "death-proof" black 1970s stunt car. Why? No motivation given. Later, Mike tries to pull off a similar crime against a group of spunky young ladies in Tennessee. But the intended victims here are also movie stuntwomen, and they aren't such easy prey.
A lot of viewers might find it a long haul to get to the action. Others might find the filth-talking girls, psychotic Mike, and a few other low-life guys around the periphery to be most unappealing people to spend time with. And maybe just a few viewers, who groove to the same beat Tarantino does, will think this movie is the best thing ever. Characters inhabit a world of violence, sex, and obscure-movie quotes and entertainment trivia. When the stunt girls learn that a vacuous actress among them has never heard of their favorite car-chase flick Vanishing Point (and, worse, she likes John Hughes movies), they abandon her, to potential molestation by a degenerate-looking hillbilly.
Far more family-friendly films that pay amusing tribute to downmarket B-movies of yesteryear are The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and Matinee. A recent documentary called Double Dare serves up a more illuminating and palatable look at movie stuntwomen and includes biographical info on Zoe Bell, the New Zealand stunt sensation who portrays herself in Death Proof.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
