Review of Static (1986) by Allan C — 21 Apr 2017

This film reminded me of a number of quirky independent films of the 80s, like "Earth Girls are Easy," "Bagdad Cafe," or "Six String Samurai," though unfortunately this one was nowhere as good.

The film boasts a strong director in Mark Romanek, who disowned the film and would later go on to make "One Hour Photo" and the brilliant "Never Let Me Go," and also a strong co-writer/star, Keith Gordon, who'd follow this film up with his directorial debut "The Chocolate War," then "A Midnight Clear," and the very underrated "Mother Night.

" Despite that pedigree, this oddballs story of Gordon inventing a machine that is supposed to allow people to see picture of heaven, although most people only see static except for Gordon. The quirky story is complimented with a quirky cast that includes Amanda Plummer and Bob Gunton, but the story seems pretentious, obvious in it's metaphor, and simply not all that entertaining.

I did like the soundtrack though, which featured Elvis, to Johnny Cash, to OMD, to Brian Eno, to the film's especially good kickoff playing The The's "This is the Day." Not much to recommend here outside of some 80s nostalgia, which I'll admit was enough to hold my interest.