Crumb (1994)

Title: Crumb (1994)

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Review:

Robert Crumb stands proudly high and above the world’s cartoonists, leading the pack as the world’s best doodler. The guy is a genius; his drawings and cartoons comment on the American way of life. Crumb is the ultimate watcher, his view is that of a god viewing American society from up above. This is probably the reason why he did a self portrait which depicts him as having a third eye on his forehead. He doesn’t pass judgment with his comics; he simply states and shows things for what they are, if you don’t like it, well, tough luck, but that’s the way life is. His art is not filtered; his comics are blunt, over the top exaggerations of real life. How did Crumb get so good? Well, the guy has never stopped drawing. If you were to ever meet the guy in person, you are likely to see him with a pen in hand, doodling something on anything, be it a sketchbook, a napkin, or a place mat in a restaurant.  Crumb’s been drawing comics since he was a kid, he and his brothers had their own little comic book company, and the three would draw and write their own comic strips and sell them to their friends. Coolest part about the whole thing is that he never went to art school; he learned by doing, the pure definition of ‘a natural’.

The guy is one of my personal heroes because my artistic life echoes his in some ways. I also did comics when I was a kid and sold them to my friends, I love drawing ‘old school’ black and white comics, with pencils, paper and ink. No computer boloney, just old school, hand drawn, home grown sketches. I will be self-publishing a magazine this year which will be available to you, my dear readers sometime soon, so look forward to that! But watching a documentary like Terry Zwigoff’s  Crumb is inspiring in many ways because here’s a guy who is completely devoted to doing what he is best at. Here’s a guy who draws for a living, and he does it 24-7; literally, I don’t think Crumb ever stops drawing! Proof of this is his work, if you one day decide to explore Robert Crumb’s body of work you will see that it never seems to end, there’s volumes and volumes of his stuff! I admire the guy for all these reasons, because he is a true blue talented individual with dedication to spare. The other side of the story is that all this talent comes with a life that many would consider downright bizarre. One of my greatest heroes is undoubtedly a ‘weirdo’. But hey, that’s the name of one of his magazines, so it’s not like he’s hiding the fact.

   

And this is where Zwigoff’s documentary comes in and opens the flood gates of Crumb’s life for everyone to see, and it’s a pretty freaky affair. I mean, I love the guy’s work and how truthful and unfiltered it is. One thing I love about his stuff is how autobiographical it is, he isn’t afraid to expose himself to the world. Reading some of his comics is like taking all your inhibitions and throwing them out the door, it’s talking about all those things about sex you wanted to talk about but were afraid to ask. When asked about some of his more offbeat ideas and sexual habits his answer is “I don’t know, you tell me!” As if saying, why are humans the way they are? I don’t have the answer, if you have it then I’m all ears! But honestly, who’s to explain humanities often times bizarre behavior? On this documentary you’ll learn about Crumbs obsession with voluptuous ladies, especially those with a –pardon my French- huge ass. He has a foot fetish; the guy even likes riding piggy back on girls! Crumb has a love/hate relationship with women; he admires their beauty, but at the same time he comes off as misogynistic. So be ready, Crumb truly exposes himself here, he is who he is whether you like it or not. But that’s nothing, Crumb is “normal” when compared to the rest of his family, which by the way you get to meet on the documentary.

And here’s where the documentary gets extra weird in such a strange way that you won’t want to stop watching. You won’t believe how freaky some people in the world can get. For example, we meet Robert’s Crumb’s brother, Charles Crumb; an obsessively reclusive individual who lived with his mother most of his life. He never left his apartment, didn’t care much for personal hygiene, basically, this was an individual filled with self loathing. The saddest part about the whole thing is that before the documentary was released he committed suicide! And that’s just brother number one, Crumbs other brother, Maxon Crumb likes to sit on a bed of nails and eats a string every now and then so that it will “cleanse his system”; “it takes three days to come out the other end” he says. And let’s not get started on Crumb’s mother! Crumb also has sisters, but for whatever the reason they declined to appear on the documentary. One wonders what other levels of weirdness they would have brought to the table! You kind of get the feeling that even with all his sexual antics, and his dark outlook on life, Crumb turned out pretty much alright.

Terry Zwigoff

Crumb was directed by Terry Zwigoff, the director behind Ghost World (2001) and Art School Confidential (2006), two films that have a lot to do with Crumb and his world. Ghost World is a film that’s about this young girl who has an affair with an older guy named Seymour. Seymour is one of these hard core collectors of old records and old art, one could easily think that Steve Buscemi is playing Crumb, hell, the character even looks like Crumb! Art School Confidential is all about an art school student who painfully discovers that art school isn’t as cool as he thought it would be and that it’s all very fake. He ends up meeting a reclusive character who resembles one of Crumbs own freaky brothers. Basically, Zwigoff has always been an expert on Crumb; he took six years to make this documentary! This is the reason why the rest of his films are somehow related to Crumb’s artwork and lifestyle. Three films that are all linked together. Seeing them back to back is a good idea, you’ll feel like you’re watching films that exist within the same universe. Sadly, Art School Confidential turned out to be such a somber and downright depressing film with a not so happy ending that it ended up being a flop, so Zwigoff hasn’t made a film again. But Crumb garnered critical acclaim and attention when it was released. Jeffrey Anderson, critic for the San Francisco Examiner called this “the greatest documentary ever made” and “one of the most bravest and honest films I’ve ever seen” which is absolutely true, I agree, Crumb the documentary is a lot like Crumb’s comics; he isn’t afraid to put himself, and his flaws out there for all to see. I agree very much with Roger Ebert’s take on this film. In his review he says that this documentary “gives new meaning to art as therapy”, which is exactly how Crumbs comics function, you kind of get the feeling that Crumb works many of his own issues through his art, as many good artists do. Brave in deed, and well worth a watch; highly recommended. 

Rating:  5 out of 5   

      

Ghost World (2001)

Title: Ghost World (2001)

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Cast: Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi

Review:

Director Terry Zwigoff made a career for himself out of making movies and documentaries based on the peculiarities and the lifestyle of the art world. His first documentary was Crumb (1994) which depicts the story and life of legendary cartoonist Robert Crumb. Now, if there’s anyone out there remotely interested in cartooning and sketches and graphic art, this is a documentary that you simply have to see. Not only does this documentary give us an insightful look into Robert Crumbs art across the years, but it also gives us a glimpse at his 100% bizarre lifestyle. You get to meet Robert Crumb’s brother, who will turn out to be one of the strangest and most bizarre individuals you will have ever seen in your whole life. My main interest in the film was to learn more about Crumbs cartoons and art through the years, I greatly admire the guy for his contributions to the art world. After watching this documentary, Crumb became an even bigger inspiration for me artistically. But damn does the guy have a strange life!

But hell, most artists have that ‘bizarreness’ to them. Artists tend to see things just a little differently then everybody else. And that’s what Zwigoff’s second feature Ghost World (2001) focuses on. The story revolves around two best friends, Enid and Becky. Two girls who hate society and the status quo of things. Two very cynical, very witty teenagers. They hate graduation; they don’t want to go to college, they make fun of everybody. All they want to do is get a job, find their own apartment and live their lives the way they want to. Or do they? At one point, Enid’s and Becky’s objectives suddenly become opposing objectives. Enid wants to live the artsy fartsy aimless life for a while, while Becky wants to join society, get a job, pay the rent and live a same-o same-o kind of life. But Enid wants none of that. Pretty soon, best friends turn to strangers, and Enid goes on a journey to know her self and what she wants to do with her life. Will she ever find her way?

The film is based on the Ghost World story arc found in Eight Ball issues #11 through #18

This film is based on Daniel Clowes comic book Eight ball issues #11 through 18. The Ghost World story arc was such a huge hit that it was later reprinted in graphic novel form. Its interesting that when the time came to make the movie, it was comic book creator/artist Daniel Clowes himself who wrote the screenplay and consequently won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay in 2001 for it! So at least we know that the film is going to be pretty faithful to the comic book its based on because its own creator wrote the screenplay! And this faithfulness to the source material translates in many ways, amongst them in the casting. It’s almost uncanny how much Thora Birch looks like the comic book version of Enid! She was perfectly cast as the rebellious teenager! I’m actually kind of sad she hasn’t been used in more films recently; she does such a great job on this one.

I’ve never read the graphic novel (I’m looking forward to it that’s for sure!) but I have to admit I love this character Enid. She’s this girl who is at war with the world, with boredom and fakeness; she just doesn’t know how to focus all that anger towards the world. She’s trying to find herself, what she wants to do, where she wants to be, who she wants to become. She wants to belong to something, be somebody, do something with her life. Problem is she still hasn’t figured out what that is. In the mean time, in the midst of all her confusion, she makes everyone else’s life a confused mess as well. Including Seymour, Steve Buscemi’s character.

In her continuous search for evading boredom, she decides to become friends with an obsessive record collector named Seymour who is about 30 years older then she is. She finds him interesting because he isn’t like everybody else. Because much like her, he “can’t relate to 99% of humanity”. So they are kindred spirits in that sense. He is also into old art, old Jazz/blues records, basically, he likes collecting cool stuff from the past. He isn’t into “guitars and sports” and isn’t a pseudo hippy. The relationship that forms between the two takes up a large part of the film because Enid becomes hell bent on finding Seymour a date because as she puts it, she doesn’t want to live in a world where a guy like Seymour can’t even get a date. This part of the film presents us with an interesting situation. Should Enid and Seymour have a relationship? He being so much older then she is? Can a relationship like that work?

Enid also has to take a summer art class because she flunked it. Not because she isn’t any good, but because she cant take the bullshit and the judgments that go on inside of an art class. In an art class room, everything revolves around the point of view of the art teacher, and if you don’t necessarily fit within that point of view then surviving (or passing) an art class can become something of a chore. This is a theme that is also explored in director Terry Zwigoff’s third feature Art School Confidential (2006), which by the way was also based on a comic book of the same name. I should mention that the comic book on which Art School Confidential was based on was also written and illustrated by Daniel Clowes, the same guy who did the Ghost World graphic novel and wrote the screenplay for the film. Though if you haven’t seen Art School Confidential let me warn you that it’s a very dark and bitter film, don’t go expecting something as light as what we see in Ghost World.

In contrast, Ghost World is a joy to watch. Most of the main character are cynical, bitter, but never stop being funny. I find it interesting how much they reflect the American way of life. One particularly funny character is this crazy white thrash dude who hangs out at the parking lot of the seven eleven. When the owner of the store tells him that he can’t be in the store without a shirt the guy replies “It’s called America dude, learn the rules!” and then he proceeds to practice his abilities with his nun chucks on the parking lot. Another way in which the film mirrors society is by showing us how big corporations are slowly taking over small towns in the United States. The town depicted in Ghost World has no name, it could be Anywhere U.S.A. But for example Becky the character played by Scarlett Johansson ends up working in a Starbucks-like shop called “The Coffee Experience”, Enid ends up working in a multiplex theater. She gets fired on the first day because she doesn't like how sleazily they try to push bigger sizes on their customers. In a way, the Ghost World in this movie is really the town that is getting crushed by big companies. And the world that Enid leaves behind when she finally makes her choice.

Daniel Clowes, the writer of Ghost World went to art school, he knows how frustrating these schools can be and how many wannabes and eccentrics inhabit the hallways of these schools. He knows how infuriating it can be to try and please an art teacher, who either doesn’t know jack of what he or she is talking about or is trying to cope with the fact that he or she never made it in the art world. Through his scripts and on both of his comics he captures the competitive vibe felt on these art schools where usually the less artistic and more commercially viable art is the one that garners the attention. In Ghost World, Enid goes to art class in high school, and the art teacher is one of the funniest characters in the film as well. Zwigoff and Clowes cannot help but show these teachers as losers, as has beens who never quite made it in the art world and are now taking out their frustrations on you. I have to say that I fully agree. There are good art teachers out there, I’ve seen them myself, but most of the time, they feel like the art teachers on both of these films. So Id say Ghost World accurately portrays what it is to deal with these individuals and the atmosphere breathed inside of an art class. Art School Confidential explores these themes a bit more deeply, and from a far darker angle. So much so that the film turns completely bitter by its third half.

Ghost World is entertaining, well written and directed. It is inhabited by funny witty characters, who love to criticize everything. Its one of those movies that illustrates that moment in life when we don’t know exactly what we want to do with ourselves, but we are sure its not what we currently have. It’s about that pivotal moment in life when you have to decide which way you are going to go.

Rating: 5 out of 5