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Some movie characters need to do the wrong thing, because otherwise
there'd be no conflict, and no story. But filmmakers can't make too many
wrong choices, if they want to get funding for their future productions.
How to get it right is illustrated by Sam Raimi, and Peter Berg shows what
not to do, in these two film treatments of what happens when characters
make the wrong decisions.
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We're so accustomed to mega-effects in movies now that it can be easy to
forget how frightening a knock on a door can be. A Simple Plan
provides a reminder of how suspense can be built on the sound basis of a
character-driven narrative.
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In Sam Raimi's film, the characters who make the wrong decision at the
start are Hank (Bill Paxton), his not-so-bright brother Jacob (Billy Bob
Thornton), and their friend, the town drunk, Lou (Brent Briscoe). Their
simple plan is to keep the $4.4 million they find in a wrecked plane,
until the time is right to divvy it up and head off for greener pastures.
But subsequent events, plus faults in their own characters, destroy that
plan, as well as a number of lives. The ability of writer Scott B. Smith
to establish and develop these characters (plus the actors' performances)
makes their initial actions in failing to report the discovery of a dead
body in the plane, and stealing the loot, seem plausible.
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Billy Bob Thornton's Jacob, in turn funny, exasperating, surprising, and
touching, is as original a creation as (and quite different from) his
character Karl Childers in Sling Blade. Thornton's performance
in A Simple Plan has already won him three U.S. awards, plus a
Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. As the mainstay of the film, Bill
Paxton gives a performance which earns him at least ten years off the
sentence in purgatory he accrued by taking part in Twister and
The Evening Star. And Smith's screenplay (adapted from his
novel) earns him an Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination.
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In contrast to this merit, Peter Berg's screenplay for Very Bad
Things would have been rejected at the outline stage by my
scriptwriting lecturer, while the one-note performances he elicits do no
credit to players capable of better things. Berg's story has five pals
going to Las Vegas for the bachelor party before the wedding of Kyle (Jon
Favreau) to Laura (Cameron Diaz). With the nutcase Boyd (Christian
Slater) as master of revels, they hole up in their hotel for booze,
cocaine, and lap-dancing by stripper Tina (Kobé Tai).
Tina tells Michael (Jeremy Piven) there'll be a charge for sex; but while
so engaged in the bathroom, he slips, and the back of Tina's head comes
down on a coathook, which fatally impales her.
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The wrong decision here, as in A Simple Plan, is to fail to
report the event at once, leading likewise to similar consequences. But
Very Bad Things is supposed to be funny, with auteur Berg setting
out to offend as many sections of the community as possible. To see how
he gets it wrong, we need only compare There's Something about Mary
as an example of the successful incorporation of the politically incorrect
into comedy.
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Berg introduces characters who are neither particularly attractive nor
personable, and gives them minimal development; his story also starts with
a shaky premise. Though horrible, Tina's death (according to my sister
the barrister) is neither murder nor manslaughter, but accidental death (or the equivalent
offence under Nevada statute); so if Michael called the police straight
away and explained the circumstances, he should have a total defence. But
even if Michael's guilty reaction is accepted as psychologically sound,
the subsequent surrender of four individuals -- however panic-stricken -- to
the will of the fifth, loony Boyd (after he has killed a security guard),
is inexplicable. If Berg had at least one of them opting out and leaving
immediately, that would allow for credible plot developments. That Berg
later has members of the group wanting out doesn't have the same
effect.
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I always go to movies wanting to like them, and I'm always pleased to find
something to recommend. In the case of Very Bad Things, I can
only recommend sympathy for the actors, crew, and financial backers.
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Details
A Simple Plan, by Mutual Films 1998.
Director: Sam Raimi.
Screenplay: Scott B. Smith, based upon his novel.
Cinematography: Alar Kivilo.
Production Design: Patrizia von Brandenstein.
Costume Design: Julie Weiss.
Score: Danny Elfman.
Cast: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe, Bridget Fonda.
Very Bad Things], by Polygram 1998.
Writer and Director: Peter Berg.
Cinematography: David Hennings.
Production Design: Dina Lipton.
Costume Design: Terry Dresbach.
Cast: Jon Favreau, Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn.
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Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Shane Lewis. "What Tangled Webs: 'A Simple Plan'/'Very Bad Things'." M/C Reviews 16 Feb. 99.
[your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/plan.html>.
Chicago style:
Shane Lewis, "What Tangled Webs: 'A Simple Plan'/'Very Bad Things'," M/C Reviews 16 Feb. 99,
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/plan.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Shane Lewis. (1999) What tangled webs: 'A simple plan'/'Very bad things'. M/C Reviews 16 Feb. 99.
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/plan.html> ([your date of access]).
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![[image]](http://movies.yahoo.com/images/movies/guide/01693301.jpg)