Cinema Tuesdays Review

Okay, so I couldn't come up with a more eloquent title for this review, but it's how I feel. Spike Jonze, before being celebrated in the mainstream press for his films "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation," directed some of the greatest music videos of all time. The artists who commissioned him run the gamut from rock, to rap, to electronica, and beyond. Sixteen of Jonze's best music videos are collected on the DVD "The Work of Director Spike Jonze," which also includes three half-hour documentaries, and some assorted odds and ends from one of the most creative and talented directors working today.

Since its inception in the early 1980s, MTV has provided young directors with an avenue to hone their craft, learn how to tell a story, and create some memorable television moments. The videos for Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel, and ZZ Top are just as memorable as the songs themselves, sometimes to the point that you are nearly unable to separate the music from the moving image. Such is the case with songs like Weezer's "Buddy Holly," the Beastie Boys "Sabotage," and Fatboy Slim's "Praise You." The latter was voted by MTV viewers the best video of all time in a 2001 poll.

"Praise You" is made to look like a home movie documenting the Torrance Community Dance Group's debut performance, outside a Los Angeles movie theater. Filmed surreptitiously by a digital video camera (held by Roman Coppola), the dance group, decked out in leg warmers, leotards, and loose fitting sweaters, shimmies, wiggles, leaps and flails its way through a hilariously strange dance routine. Confused onlookers and an upset theater manager add to the colorful cast of characters. The artist, Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) does not appear until the end of the video, and then only in a fleeting glimpse. Jonze is actually the star of the video, playing the leader of the dance group, Richard Koufey.

For nineties rock heroes Weezer, Spike Jonze's two videos for their songs "Undone (the Sweater Song)" and "Buddy Holly" launched their career. "Undone" features a unique use of slow-motion photography, as the band performs on a soundstage while a pack of dogs roam around the set. And the innovative "Buddy Holly" video spliced the group into footage from old "Happy Days" episodes. Generation X kids who were raised on the sitcom loved the wacky short, and snapped up copies of the group's eponymous debut album. Today, Weezer remains a critical, if not a commercial favorite, and their "Buddy Holly" video is just as fresh today as it was ten years ago.

Jonze's collaborations with the Beastie Boys also proved fruitful. Of the four videos Jonze directed for the rap superstars, two are included on "The Work of Director Spike Jonze." Of the two, "Sabotage" is the better-known short. Reaching back to the 1970s again, Jonze and the Beasties created an action packed video that pays tribute to television cop shows.

Time and again, Jonze's videos are technically and conceptually innovative, full of memorable images, and most importantly, they're fun, and they hold up to repeat viewings. Björk's "It's Oh So Quiet" seems inspired by "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg." Two men play golf through Manhattan in "Feel the Pain," by Dinosaur Jr, and reverse photography is used to great effect in "Drop," by The Pharcyde.

The disc also includes commentary by the musicians on some videos, and interviews with the artists. Norman Cook talks about the "Praise You" video while taking a bath. And Christopher Walken's hair is taller than Don King's while he talks about dancing his way through the video for "Weapon of Choice."

Also included on the double-sided DVD are a few short films produced in collaboration with Mark Gonzales, and a demo for an Oasis video that never happened, featuring interviews with ordinary folks who give their ideas for what the video should be.

It's clear the music videos are the main draw on this DVD, but Jonze's three documentaries on the disc also deserve a mention. "Torrance Rises" is a mockumentary following the Torrance Community Dance Group on their way to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards. Throughout, Jonze (as Richard Koufey) and his fellow dancers never drop out of character -- they're just a struggling dance troupe that's hit the big time. It runs a little too long, but it's still worth watching. "What's Up Fatlip? (the documentary)," is about an ex-member of The Pharcyde, and "Amarillo By Morning" is an oddly affecting short about suburban Houston teens who aspire to be champion bull riders.

After "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation," it is clear that Spike Jonze is a director to watch. "The Work of Director Spike Jonze" gives us an opportunity to explore his roots, and have a ball doing so.

10/14/04

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