Real to reel

Local observations from a movie, music buff

By Dan Ochwat

“Borat” reveals too much in massive pre-opening press tour

Weeks before the opening, Entertainment Weekly asked if it was the funniest movie ever. How’s that for high expectations. Pile on hilarious Sacha Baron Cohen interviews on the talk-show circuit and nearly every film critic granting it a four-star review, and “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” opened on a rocket.

In fact, it set a record as the highest grossing film among movies that opened in less than 1,000 theaters. The film bundled $26,455,463 in its first weekend over 837 theaters. For those of you scoring at home, that’s $31,607.48 per screen on average. That’s unheard of, and per-screen average is everything in Hollywood today. To put it in perspective, the animated film “Flushed Away” also opened that weekend, cashing in $18,814,323 over 3,707 theaters for a per-screen average of $5,075.35. And that’s considered pretty good!

To put it in even more perspective, this is why you had to catch the 3 a.m. showing at your local theater. With that per-screen average, “Borat” practically sold out every showing. We can consider this movie, “Success!”

Now, is it the funniest movie ever? For me, it’s damn funny, finding a way to be smart and stupid at the same time, but all of this pre-buzz splash kind of dented the movie. In newspaper and magazine articles, on Conan, on Letterman, on “The Daily Show” and on the radio, Cohen conducted interviews as Borat; thus, actually doing many bits from the movie. The element of surprise — some of that shock — was stripped when I finally saw it, softening its comedic blow. (Another distraction, a 6-foot blonde model in heels and a pinstripe business suit sat next to me on the aisle steps with her friend. The theater was jammed and they didn’t want the latecomers’ front row, so they squatted in the aisle next to me. Do I give up my seat? With her waving that heeled foot too close to my comfort zone, this was an argument for those who only rent movies — which I’m insanely against. You have to see movies in the theater, but here, I can understand it. But then again, most human males don’t get flustered when a pretty woman sits next to them.)

Anyway, so here’s a breakdown of how the Borat press tour ruined my experience. It should be noted that I was a monster fan of Cohen’s “Da Ali G Show,” particularly his Borat pranks, so naturally I had to read and see all interviews and clips wherever possible.

On CNN, during his interview, I saw part of the etiquette clip where he makes fun of one man’s wife. On Letterman, I saw the driver’s education clip. On “The Daily Show,” I saw the “What’s up wit it vanilla face” clip. On Conan, I saw the feminist clip. Then on the Opie and Anthony radio show, and all of those other interviews, he repeated a lot of jokes, many that were in the movie in some way. They included his hilarious “sleeve of wizard” joke, a joke about women no longer having to ride on the outside of buses, a joke about homosexuals being forced to wear blue hats, a joke of him in a man-kini, a Barbara Bush joke, and so on. This movie is only 80 minutes long, so there’s no room to leak all of this material or like-minded material.

While this P.R. push for the movie worked, getting more than fans of the original Borat clips on HBO to head to theaters, it did take away from the experience. If I saw this movie clean and pure, I would probably say it is the funniest movie of all time.

Make no mistake, this is a crude comedy first and foremost, with a plot as thin as Nicole Richie, and about as thin as her chances at recovery, but it syphons in social commentary on America. He exposes some rodeo fans in Texas, some frat boys from South Carolina and a Pentecostal church. Anytime a comedy goes the extra mile to actually say something, I have to applaud it. And whether you saw the clips already or not, it really is hysterical.

 

Support Aronofsky
On Nov. 22, Warner Bros. will release the next film from the great Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem for a Dream” and “Pi”) called “The Fountain.” The film is heady, something I can see from a foreign director but not a Hollywood director. It’s not easy to get into; it’s hard to watch, tackling issues like the existence of man and mortality. This isn’t really even a recommendation. But, he’s an important director who needs to be supported, so this is a plea to give him your $9 so Hollywood will continue to give him projects.

 

Recommended concerts
Sadly, too many to name them all, but here are my top concerts happening in the next couple weeks:

On 11/20, The Headlights fly down I-57 from their home turf in Champaign, Ill., to bring their indie rock to the Empty Bottle. Coming from London on 11/22, Bloc Party plays the UIC Pavilion with makeup-wearing rugrats Panic! At the Disco.

On 11/24, religious-turned-anti-religious Detholz! plays its whacky music at the Auditorium Theatre, opening for legendary Wilco. Sonically gorgeous Califone opens for the band the next night. Not generally a hip-hop venue, but Lupe Fiasco will set the Park West on fire 11/24. On the same night, My Morning Jacket lulls crowds into euphoria at the Riviera, and the bluesy Black Keys are at the Vic Theatre.

On 11/25, buzz-worthy Silversun Pickups play with ’70s re-enactment band Wolfmother at the Riviera. At Schuba’s that night, pop/rock band plus/minus plays one of my new favorite songs “Leap Year.” Up-and-coming band Dr. Dog plays with the Black Keys at the Vic as well. On 11/26, punk princesses The Sounds play the Metro.

On 11/29, hot new rock band Tokyo Police Club play Schuba’s. Fresh off their new success from scoring “Little Miss Sunshine,” DeVotchKa play the Logan Square Auditorium on 12/2. At Subterranean that night, you can hear popsters Margot & The Nuclear So And Sos. On 12/5, dance-punk, “music-by-numbers” band Forward Russia destroys the Empty Bottle.

Montreal’s The Dears play the Metro on 12/8. Veteran shoe-gazing pop band Low plays the Old Town School Of Folk on 12/8. The next night, Mr. Lif and The Coup team up for a much-needed, fresh hip-hop show in Chicago, playing the Abbey Pub.

Finally, go hear that infectious song from the Nike World Cup commercials and leave liking a lot more infectious tunes from Jim Noir on 12/12 at Park West. He plays with critic favorite Sean Lennon. Yes, the son of John actually put out a good record.

Keep sending me your music or anything else on your mind at danochwat@hotmail.com. I’ve also joined the MySpace army, so give The Real Chicago some love at http://www1.myspace.com/danochwat

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