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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"We are pioneers in the neoplastic arts!", April 6, 2006
An insert, with relation to the cinema, according to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot. Inserts cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasize a different aspect of that action due to the different framing. An insert is different from a cutaway in that the cutaway is of action not covered in the master shot." Inserts (1976), the film, was written an directed by John Byrum (The Razor's Edge, The Whoopee Boys), and features Richard Dreyfuss (American Graffiti, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Jessica Harper (Phantom of the Paradise, Suspiria), Bob Hoskins (Brazil, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Veronica Cartwright (Alien, The Right Stuff), and Stephen Davies (The Long Good Friday, The Razor's Edge).
Dreyfuss plays a character referred to in the film as the `Boy Wonder', a once prominent silent film director and rising star in the industry, one who quickly found himself out of a job once `talkies' made the scene, apparently unable to make the transition. He now spends his days reclusively rambling about his spacious house in his bathrobe (the plumbing is on the fritz, in both the house and the man), drinking himself silly (he's got a real problem with the booze...he can't get enough!), and shooting stag films. We soon meet one of the `stars' of his current project, a faded flower named Harlene (Cartwright), a hophead who once had a promising career in `real' films, but has since found herself relegated to waitress gigs and performing the horizontal mambo before the cameras. After a little give and take between the pair, the male lead shows up, aptly known as Rex, the Wonder Dog (Davies), a gawky, brain dead stud with aspirations of greatness, and the shooting commences. Soon afterwards Big Mac (Hoskins), the money man of the operation, shows up with his girlfriend Cathy Cake (Harper), the latter possessing a strong desire to make it into `real' films, hence her involvement with Big Mac, who's a real lout, but a lout with connections (peripherally at best) in the industry. Anyway, after Harlene overdoses, and Big Mac and Rex leave to dispose of the body, Miss Cake (who turns out to be quite a piece of work), offers to fill in and help with the inserts, the shots needed to complete the film, if only to work with the Wonder Boy, whom she thinks is a genius and will impart upon her the knowledge and experience needed to make her break into the business. The pair goes back and forth, continually testing each other's resolve, that is at least until Big Mac returns...
What I've detailed above may appear to be a plot, but it really isn't as this is a character driven drama with dark, quasi-comical underpinnings. I thought all the performers did very well, with Dreyfuss being the real standout as a sarcastic, pathetic husk of his former self, wallowing about in booze and self loathing for what he's become, a purveyor of sperm jerkers. Present is that freaky, kinetic energy found in many of his performances, transposed onto a demoralized and broken character (sounds odd, but it worked for me). Despite the repugnant and seedy medium in which he now toils, he still tries to apply his artistic expertise, if only to keep the spark alive, much to the consternation of his producer who chastises him for not following the established format of the genre by removing the camera from the tripod, focusing on the aesthetic, and "all that other fancy crap nobody else does." Dreyfuss' character has no illusions about the type of movies he currently directs (or his audience), just a desire to make them on his own terms. Jessica Harper's character also did a remarkable job displaying a character who, at first, seemed more of a set piece, but comes to life once her beau is off taking care of business. Off the tether she displays her resolve in getting her foot in the door, no matter what it takes, seeing an opportunity to cull what she needs from the genius possessed by Dreyfuss' jaded character, and when I say `whatever it takes', I ain't fooling...talk about a super freak. I think part of her motivation stemmed from her stifling relationship with Big Mac, as he seemed to have the means to fulfill her ambitions, but probably not the inclination, forever dangling the possibility in front of her like a carrot to a mule, at least until he grew tired of her and turned her out, so she had to seize the opportunity when it arose, which she did...this isn't a comedy, but it does have some humorous bits, particularly in the fact that after Harlene's demise, the main concerns were more for what to do with the body, and how they were going to finish the film (and not necessarily in that order), the real humor coming from the reactions of the others after Dreyfuss' character proposes how they might finish the film, a proposal that pushes even their up until recently non existent boundaries of decency. Another bit was when Dreyfuss' character was trying to delicately broach the subject of the money shot with Harper's character. Besides the performances, the other element that made this film work for me was the sharp and witty dialog, particularly from Dreyfuss' character, who could certainly turn a phrase. In case you missed it, this film is rated NC-17 due to the extensive nudity (the two female characters are topless more often than not) and crude language, so if you're somewhat of a prude, pass this one up all together. There are a couple of erotic sequences, but overall I didn't see this as an erotic film, but an interesting feature full of rich, albeit seedy, broken, and twisted, characters, one for mature viewers.
The picture, presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) is clean and clear, and the Dolby Digital audio, available in both English and French, comes through well. As far as special features, there's a theatrical trailer and subtitles, available in English, French, and Spanish.
Cookieman108
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, June 20, 2005
Hoo boy. I guess they really are clearing out those vaults now. I never even began to dream that this oddball dramedy would ever see the light of day on DVD, much less from a mainstream releasing company like MGM (I would have expected Fantoma, Anchor Bay or Blue Underground). If I told you that in the mid 70's, Richard Dreyfuss, Veronica Cartwright, Bob Hoskins and Jessica Harper all co-starred in a Hollywood-produced "X" rated film, would you have believed me? Dreyfuss plays a has-been Hollywood directing prodigy known as "Wonder Boy", whose career has peaked early (his character may be loosely based on Irving Thalberg) and now lives in his bathrobe (pre-Hugh Hefner!) drinking heavily and casting junkies and starlet-wannabes in low-budget pornos produced at his crumbling mansion. Bob Hoskins portrays the "producer", who earns his living in a dubious manner, and is looking for investors for his latest "get rich" scheme- an idea to open a chain of hamburger joints (and his character's nickname is "Big Mac"-get it?) The story takes place in 1930's Hollywood, and it is almost an unofficial "sequel" of sorts to "Day Of The Locust" (with its mostly downbeat view of the squalid side of show biz). There isn't much of a plot, and its not even what I would consider a "well made" film (especially considering the impressive cast) but there is something oddly compelling about this movie that I've never been able to quite explain or shake off-a real love/hate thing. I suppose that makes this curio a definite "cult" item! I notice that MGM has rated the DVD "NC-17" so I am assuming this will be the original cut I (hazily) remember seeing in the theater almost 30 years ago. I'd say snap up a copy as soon as its released, because my "Spidey Sense" tells me it won't be available for long!
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a strange and wonderful film, September 27, 2005
While working in a video store more than ten years ago I came across this movie. Nine out of ten people I tell about it haven't heard of it. It has been my little secret.. and treasure, as I consider it to be in that ever-so-small category of truly unique films. The story concerns a down-and-out silent era director, (Dreyfuss) that, unable to deal with the transition to talkies, has withdrawn into a reclusive life, never leaving his Hollywood mansion where he makes pornos for the gangster Big Mac(Bob Hoskins). Even though he knows what he is making, he still applies the director's art to it, taking a meticulous approach to every shot. The sense of doom is palpable- in fact his house is slated for demolition to make way for a new freeway. The whole thing is very theatrical-- all the action takes place in a continuous scene and on one set. The acting is a bit stagey, which fits the subject matter. All of the characters have cartoonish names (Ms. Cake, Big Mac, Rex the Wonder Dog) and for the most part equally cartoonish personalities. Dreyfuss is a drunk genius surrounded by half-wits and low-lifes. Whenever (and it is often) their chatter threatens to drive him mad he busts out with another ever-funnier one-liner. It's an effective portrait of creative brilliance performing and yet wasted in a petty, narcissistic theater. This is the Boy Wonder: desperately using creativity to buffer himself, minute-by-minute, from the madness threatening to close in on him from every side. You get the sense this trajectory started much earlier, in his successful period, and he's been backed into the last corner, trying to stay shooting by managing this small group of freakish guests in his house.
The cartoonish "types" also act out in an exaggerated fashion, offsetting the verbal density with often hilarious pantomime and slapstick. To me it seems a great nod to the overblown style of silent cinema, and yet still achieves perhaps a hint of realism(if you use a little imagination).
Anyway, it's Dreyfuss' mentality that we are concerned with in the film, (indeed the only mentality in the film for the most part) and his character is wonderfully portrayed and fleshed out by sparse but powerful details including a wonderful anectdote about the death of Wallace Reed. Although the film is largely a sort of monologue for the Boy Wonder his world is not static, actually quite the opposite, it is changing every second all around him, life is unfolding/decaying/transforming faster than even a genius can cope with, and ultimately in the afternoon of the film things do change for him as well. Like any great dramatic art it all touches on many universal conflicts: the need to withdraw vs. the need to connect, the need to create vs. the need to simply be and be taken care of. Although certainly not a perfect film, it may be perfect in terms of its uniqueness. Other movies have revealed information and developed characters in the same "trapped-together-in-a-small-space" format, but this film's "gallows slapstick" humor, a credit both to the writer and the cast, is its own unique brand. If only this kind of alchemy happened more often.
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