Review of Static (1986) by Cory B — 02 Dec 2008

Probably about two and a half years ago, I watched a little indie flick called One Hour Photo... and loved it. Pining for more Mark Romanek works, I only found one; an extremely obscure 1986 feature called Static.

From then until now I have been trying to track down a reasonably priced DVD, but it was hard (and it took me two and half years). I finally broke down and found one for about $14, and it arrived today and I wasted no time not watching it.

From here, spoilers there be. The cast was excellent; Keith Gordon, whoever he is, is great. His dialogue flows effortlessly, and the exchanges he has with Patty feel more real than any conversation if ever seen on film.

Then Amanda Plummer arrives; she's really cute playing the coy and collected love interest. You may recognize her as honey-bun from Pulp Fiction (I didn't, and kicked myself for saying 'where have I seen her before?').

Rounding out the top three is Bob Gunton; you may recognize from Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls or The Shawshank Redemption (and I did). He steals the show as the crazy end-of-the-world obsessed family man with an asian wife and two kids named North and South; probably the funniest fucking thing I've seen on film within the year.

So far, all good things. Rounding out the supporting cast, we have a bunch of memorable characters, from Patty the waitress, the sherrif and the deputy (who reminded me of Ed Tom Bell and Wendell from No Country), who despise Bob Gunton's preaching and wailing (great exchanges there as well), and the bus full of old ladies.

From here, I won't divuldge much of the plot, because, I have to admit, the amount I read about the film before I saw it kind of ruined it for me; I knew everything that going to happen, albeit the ending.

Basically, Keith Gordon's character (Ernie) creates this great invention, and everyone in his podunk Arizona (?) town is pining to know what it is. But first, he gets fired from his job at the crucifix factory for stealing defective ones (you see why this sounds so awesome?).

When they pan his collection of them in his motel room, it's extremely chilling. The suspense of finding out what his invention is (even though I knew), last for more than half of the film, and it's best aspect of the film.

Things don't go well at the final unveiling, and Ernie has to resort to extreme measures to get media attention for the invention. So, he 'hijacks' a bus full of old ladies, and from there the film flirts between the line of satire and seriousness with such finesse, it amazes the biggest sceptic.

The final few minutes were quite a letdown since the rest of the film was so suspensful. I kind of just sat there with my jaw in my lap during the credits, not because I was awestruck, but because I was so disappointed.

I historically base my overall rating on the ending of the films I watch, and if the ending is a let down, I usually cast the rest of the film in a bad light. So what if the bulk of the film is great? A filmmaker's biggest challenge, and responsibility, is to make a solid film start to finish.

The final few moments of Static were like 'whatever,' based on the character's reactions, and based on what happens, you'll see what I mean. But then again, it may be a testament to the importance.

.. aw hell I'm gonna give it all away. After waiting two and a half years to see this, I was kind of expecting it to be my favorite movie of all time, but it's not. And I guess that's okay.