The fiction films of Terry Zwigoff have all had a dark satirical bent to them that I love. What makes the comedy so special is the honesty that lies underneath. From GHOST WORLD's look at high school grads entering the "real world" to BAD SANTA's skewering of Christmas greed, there is a bite to his work that stings as only hard truths can. Now with ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, Zwigoff, reteaming with his GHOST WORLD screenwriter Daniel Clowes, takes a stab at art education and the larger modern art world in general.
Jerome (Max Minghella, SYRIANA) has lived in his art this whole life. He dreams of gaining fame and fortune through his paintings. But harsh realities set in when he arrives at college. His teacher Prof. Sandiford (John Malkovich, DANGEROUS LIASON) is a struggling painter himself, trying desperately to get a new show off the ground at every moment of the day. He tells Jerome that it has taken him 25 years to reach his current triangle period. Perpetual dropout Bardo (DODGEBALL) shows Jerome the collection of art school stereotypes from art chicks to hippies to butt kissers. Jerome's view of his own future only gets dimmer when he meets former art school grad Jimmy (Jim Broadbent, IRIS), who now wallows his life away drunk in his filthy rent controlled apartment in the ghetto. The only bright spot for Jerome is Audrey (Sophia Myles, TRISTAN & ISOLDE), a beautiful daughter of a popular artist who poses nude for the aspiring artists. However, the world seems to spiral out of control as a serial murderer stalks campus and Audrey and the rest of the university fall in love with the crude paintings of pretty boy Jonah (Matt Keeslar, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN).
The goal for Zwigoff and Clowes is to present a cynical critique of the motivations of the art world. Greed is a chief motivation they attack. But others want to show up those who have wronged them. Jerome is a talented artist, but he loses faith in himself when praise goes to people he feels do not deserve it. He goes as far as to copy what others are doing just to gain praise. It seems creating good art that means something to the artist is the least of all motivations. In a subplot, Jerome's roommate Vince (Ethan Suplee, TV's MY NAME IS EARL) views himself as the next Kevin Smith. He's determined to find fame with his terrible film about the campus killer. However, see how his motivations change when a girl comes into the picture? This may be the first film to address art as an aphrodisiac. Jerome may want fame and fortune, but secretly he knows that those are only the first steps to sleeping with beautiful women.
At first, some of the satire is too on the nose. However, when the story settles in, the targets get more subtle and subversive. At first the campus murders do not seem to have a point, but in the end they pay off devilishly well. Actually, Jerome's roommates turn out to be the least integrated into the overall film. Vince's story mostly works as a short within the larger film satirizing pretentious, Hollywood-wannabe film students. It's funny, even if predictable, but would have worked better if it paid off in a more poignant way like the murder mystery does.
With this film, Zwigoff firmly establishes himself as a director for which his next film should be greatly anticipated. Yes, his view is cynical, but he never lets anyone off the hook. His satirical lens focuses on all parties involved. It's the honesty of his work that makes it so fresh, and ultimately so funny. In ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, he pokes fun at the artist's true motivations. As the film closes, the drive for success is skewered nicely. What would you do to be famous? Lie, steal, murder? When a murderer may be the only true artist in a film about artists that's pretty wicked.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
