Review of CQ (2001) by Shane S — 13 Jul 2011

Roman Coppola's tribute to the campy films of Roger Corman (and several others who followed his example) and a tale about how a film editor learned to hone his own individuality and make pieces of art that not only were full of emotion, but also were kind of important in the long run, is kind of a blast. While most of the film is sort of a safe retread into the once-revolutionary ideas of Fellini, it's helped by some particularly nice acting, a script that not only has emotion but also has a good helping of comedy (well-fitting comedy too, not throwaway slapstick), and a pretty good case of snappy editing. I'd recommend it if you want to watch a good art film that doesn't take itself as the end-all-be-all of entertainment or the umpteenth morality piece by Gaspar Noe - revolutionary, but good revolutionary fun.

Also, I liked the whole main character and Francis Ford Coppola parallels - with that in mind, this film becomes more of a celebration of Roman's dad finally getting away from Corman and making his own projects...most of them passion projects. You know, unlike that other guy who worked for American Zoetrope.