Review of Barracuda (2017) by Thefilmdog — 15 Apr 2017

My wife and I purchased this film on one of the streaming services and settled in for a pleasant evening of light entertainment on a big screen tv with sound coming from a couple of thousand dollars worth of audio equipment, but it turns out we were all dressed up with no place to go. That is, this multi-Oscar winner turned out to be a loser that let us down on every front.

For those who haven't seen it I won't spoil the story by saying that it appears to be an updated tribute to the old musical romantic comedies. Instead of placing the young boy-girl couple back in time, we see them cavorting on the crowded interstates of modern Los Angeles which feature countless Prius Hybrids rather than elegant RR Silver Clouds. The effect is mildly humorous but not romantic. The lack of musical talent in the two leads is neither funny nor romantic. We were reminded of the fact that long ago most entertainers could sing and dance decently if not wonderfully but today's stars are not that versatile. And it's pretty depressing watching the talent lumber across a screen that the old movie-makers would have killed to use for their productions. We live in a time of technical marvels. This movie made poor use of them.

Take the matter of color, for example. The look of the old Hollywood musicals was determined in part by the lack of subtlety of the color film available at the time. Knowing the limitations of the medium the old filmmakers used sets that made a kind of fantastic beauty. Everything looked perfect, though unreal. The control that filmmakers have over color today allows for just about any imaginable look. My question is who would choose to dress the characters as if they were in an old Hollywood fantasy and then photograph them against completely realistic backgrounds featuring brown palm trees, wilted flowers, and roads and buildings that remind us that our country's infrastructure is crumbling (one of the few points that people of all political stripes can agree on).

Finally, I'm forced to ask WHY the audience is supposed to care about our lead couple. There's lots of talent out there working its heart out to get some good, steady work. Why should we want this particular duo to make it. They don't seem especially brilliant. When the young lady isn't selected for a part by a rather rude producer, I found myself thinking "well, I guess he had something else in mind". I mean, her performance didn't immediately grab me. She didn't jump out at me. And that has happened on occasion hen a great actor does a bit part in a film and you find yourself saying, my god! Who WAS that?!

So all in all another mega hit about Hollywood that got great reviews from people who live in that world--I've noticed that film critics seem to give extra points to movies about making movies. I call it the Barton Fink effect.

Maybe I'm getting old and have seen too many movies. But frankly I don' think that's the problem with a La La production that just seems flat and ugly.