Set in the Mojave Desert, the film follows a broken-down comedian playing clubs across the Southwest, working his way to Los Angeles to meet his estranged daughter.
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Reviews
People are voting emotionally.
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
If there is a theme to this movie, it might be the question: What entertains us? The main character stares blankly at telenovelas. He joylessly trudges through tourist attractions. He tells deliberately offensive jokes. He listens to deliberately bad music on endless drives where he occasionally stops to stare at desert vistas. He drinks.He watches others entertain themselves -- watching the absurdist clown who is his opening act; watching people play games at parties; attending a "chromotherapy" seminar; listening to John C. Reilly sing, or letting Reilly mess up one of the comedian's jokes. The comedian laughs only twice during the film.The comedian refuses to tell jokes when he isn't in character. He seems to be repulsed by sex, offended by offers of sympathy (from Reilly and Ty Sheridan), and unable to connect with other people. He ruins his celebrity gig. During another gig, instead of telling jokes, he pretends to shoot the audience while blowing raspberries at them.And we, of course, watch the comedian, waiting to be entertained. Neil Hamburger fans will hear few of his jokes. Michael Cera's cameo is a throwaway. Tim Heidecker fans will be equally disappointed. Speaking of cameos, Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow plays the tour guide in the first scene, and David Yow from the Jesus Lizard also has a brief scene. It isn't worth watching the movie to see them.I gave Entertainment a 5 because it left me feeling ambivalent (which may have been its goal). It is neither great nor incompetent. It certainly isn't entertaining.
"Entertainment" is almost as hard to watch as Turkington is hard to look at. Why does his hair always appear wet?It's one of those sparse art movies where nothing happens and the movie barely seems to notice the main character, which I suppose is the point. Turkington found fame as Neil Hamburger, an "anti-comedian" who is funny because he isn't funny. That's the joke.In "Entertainment", he plays a comedian - nameless - who isn't funny because he isn't funny. His shows are bad at first, and continue to get worse until he gets on stage and blows a continuous raspberry - repulsive to view and listen to - and in a final performance, collapses.It wouldn't be one of these weird art movies without two things - unexplained celebrity walk-ons and equally unexplained disturbing scenarios. For the walk-on, we get Michael Cera in one scene where he asks the comedian to "hang out" with him in the men's room. For the disturbing material, we get him approaching a woman in labor on a public bathroom floor, and then a cut to him with a newborn baby in his arms while he sits on the floor, looking as bored as he has throughout the entire movie.The stand up performances are the only part of the movie that have any kind of drama to them. Yes, they're bad, but there is some kind of character arc present in the way they devolve. Nothing else in the movie is of any value, none of it makes sense, and it's not even interesting enough to frustrate you when you realise that.
I have respect for the genre, and I'll concede there were some truly artful scenes, well composed shots, and initially interesting setting, but absolutely nothing was made of it's potential. It went no where, said nothing, and gave audiences no reason to slog through to the end. There is not a single likable character, and not an ounce of emotion was inspired in me... except for disgust towards the miserable main character, who remained depressed, pathetic, and detached in private, while presenting an increasingly repulsive, abrasive, and likely insane performer persona.The movie did cause me to feel one thing very deeply: regret for wasting my time. It was a complete and utter disappointment...an hour and some change of my life I'll never get back.
In reality, I'd give this film an orange and a telephone pole out of 10. That is to say,"Entertainment" eschews linear narrative.The surrealism is, mostly, gritty. It is an uneasy watch, and part of the difficulty is the misogyny depicted. The central character's act does for variety entertainment what Ted Hughes did for baking; yet, it is a beautiful film in the sense that it's a moving wallpaper with characters as part of a landscape.( The Mojave desert is stunning.) It is original ,the cast is faultless, and it's ironic. Some of the jokes are hilarious; despite the fact that they are part of an anti-comedy act and because of their complete mean spiritedness. It is beyond deadpan: it puts the soul in a vacuum and watches it writhe. The soundtrack also deserves mention as it is rather lovely.