Should I see Crispin Glover's "What Is It?"

[Eric]

It is coming here in a week or two. I can't decide if I should go see it. I need your help.

I'm sort of a fan of his acting but I'm definitely not one of his fanatics.

He's been touring with this film for a year or so now, he does a post-screening Q&A and book signing. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, here is a short summary:

“the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are snails, salt, a pipe, and how to get home, as tormented by an hubristic racist inner psyche.” He also explains that the film is his “psychological reaction to corporate controls of expression limiting the exploration of taboo.” Alternately shocking and awe-inspiring, Glover stars along with a supporting cast largely comprised of actors with Down’s Syndrome.

I would probably not see it if it weren't for Glover's involvement. Someone (KicktheBobo I think?) made a good point in the chat this past Tuesday, about how one probably would do well to avoid most films pegged as "provocative", or "uncompromising"....as this film has been, probably by critics who are looking to spice up their columns a bit, more than anything. One particular critique I read from Jane Ganahl of the San Francisco Examiner makes me want to stop seeing films altogether, a twist on the horribly annoying, overused "(blank) on acid!" quip: "It's like Fellini on psychedelics". Horrifying....I don't even like Fellini sans psychedelics! But for some shameful reason, I still have a perverse inclination to go. Apparently it's never going to get a DVD release. So this is pretty much my only chance.

So please: (1) Has anyone seen it? (2) Is there any concrete reason I should go?

[Jason]

[Emerson]

I saw it in Chicago. CHG was on hand for Q&A, which made the film a lot more interesting, I think, than it would have been by its lone. It's not easy on the eyes. The repeated snail-killing, in particular, cleared out about 1/3 of the sold-out crowd. It was, as Glover admitted, the hardest thing in the movie to rationalize.

I wouldn't call it "shock for shock's sake." When I hear that, I think of pandering, or exploitation wrapped in moralizing, which Glover has never done. It's not Crash, or that piece of shit Kids. It is a hodgepodge of images and ideas that would be cut, no questions asked, from any Hollywood movie. It's intended, I think, as a Jungian shadow for modern entertainment, the stuff that gets overwhelming power from a mass failure to negotiate it.

If that sounds like bullshit, then skip it.

~EmD

[jed]

i haven't seen it but a friend of mine who is not into shock for shock's sake saw it with glover in tow and  thoroughly enjoyed it. well, maybe "enjoyed" isn't the right word but you get the picture.

[bruce]

Glover appears at all screenings of the film.

[A.M. Thomas]

I thought the best part of the night was actually Crispin Glover's Big Picture Show. The film itself was somewhat weak, but the whole night and experience made it worth it. The second film of the suppossed trilogy looks much more promising.

[Emily]

eww. i just watched the 2 trailers. "what is it" is gross, and kinda dumb. but if the pace of the movie is quick like the trailer, it might be tolerable. to me it sort of seems like some cliche college art film meets the residents and the nature channel, so some of it might be really lame, but that's not to say some of the images won't be new and/or interesting to watch.

it might be cooler with crispin glover there. i saw him on Conan once. he seemed pretty eccentric, so it can go either way, (totally awful or kind of neat).

i agree though, that 'everything is fine' looks much more disturbing, or at least it has the potential to be disturbing. it seems to have a david lynch quality.

Apparently it's never going to get a DVD release. So this is pretty much my only chance.

i find that hard to believe. do you know why?

The repeated snail-killing, in particular, cleared out about 1/3 of the sold-out crowd. It was, as Glover admitted, the hardest thing in the movie to rationalize.
I wouldn't call it "shock for shock's sake."

im missing something here, if you can't rationalize it, and it's not for shock value, then what is it? did he offer any other explanation for killing the snails?

[bruce]

Apparently it's never going to get a DVD release. So this is pretty much my only chance.

i find that hard to believe. do you know why?

Glover has stated the only way the film can be seen is if he is present according to a radio interview I heard him do on Ron & Fez. He went on about how the he likes the film shown in a group setting. to be honest they lost me on that interview when they played one of his bizzare music/poetry tracks. But Rons comments after the interview were priceless.

[Emerson]

im missing something here, if you can't rationalize it, and it's not for shock value, then what is it? did he offer any other explanation for killing the snails?

It's not easy, but you can rationalize it, and Glover did, sort of.

For legal purposes, snails are classified as pests, and are thus fair game. Killing cats or emus, on camera or otherwise, would be punishable by law. So what is it that isn't supposed to be terminated? Sure, you have to be a bit sociopathic to actually follow through on something like this, and I don't know that Glover isn't sociopathic, but there is a "point."

I don't think any less of anyone who doesn't want to spend too much time on this sort of thing. Personally, I tend to dwell on things that I've been instructed never to think about. In that capacity, I got more out of What Is It? than I do out of the typical, wiggy-weird pothead student film. That's not to say it can touch David Lynch on a bad day.

~EmD

[John Junk]

The Orkley Kid rules.

[Laurie]

I love that movie! Did you hear that one epside of "This American Life"? I think it's available as a Podcast download... I remember hearing that episode when it originally broadcast, and then I listed to it again when it "aired" as a repeat on the Podcast.

[John Junk]

Nah, I just saw it at a video/film screening that my friend put together. 
We also watched this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0hIqWOkooI

[buffcoat]

People like you all - refusing to see "Norbit" and "Ice Age 3" like everyone else - are forcing the head of Sony to move into a slightly smaller mansion next year, and to fire one of his forty-seven servants.

Shame on you all.  Shame, I say.  Your local multi-multiplexes are DYING.

[Grimlock]

I waited in the rain for two hours to see it in NYC and then it was sold out.

So I say, fuck 'em.

I can watch snails and freaks in my bathtub, thank you very much.

But if you do go, pay the xtra 2 cents for tix online.

[Emily]

i had completely forgotten about this, but there was a NYer review on this Youtube personality, Little Loca, back in October, and in two of her videos she has Crispin Glover as a guest.

Little Loca is a hispanic character played by an aspiring actress, Stevie Ryan (I'm not sure if she's still making videos), but in these two she meets up with Crispin Glover, who seems to deny that he's Crispin Glover. I guess the videos are kind of a youtube ad for "what is it?" They're kind of boring, but if you're interested:

[youtube=425,350]CSia1vr1PJM[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]NJW_7fhUx2w[/youtube]


the nyer review is on litle loca, but mentions crispin glover:
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/061016fa_fact?page=1