Parks’ demented mission involves transforming Long into a grotesque likeness of said creature, though Smith mutes the surgical horrors in favour of a tonally uneven story of his fate told from differing perspectives, including that of his co-host Haley Joel Osment and his unfeasibly hot girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez). Obvious jokes about Canadian stereotypes share space with seemingly sincere, straight performances by the young protagonists, but the whole thing is unbalanced by Johnny Depp’s notably self-indulgent extended cameo (under the pseudonym Guy Lapointe) as a comedy detective channelling Peter Sellers and overdoing the boss-eyed twitchiness. It’s not nearly as funny as it thinks it is, and it seems condescending of the horror genre as a whole, but Parks is the saving grace: beguiling, strangely tender and effortlessly charismatic as an embittered yet anecdotal gentleman with a whole lot of stories to tell.
Review by Steven West
No comments:
Post a Comment