Red State

[rodneyfaile]

Just finished watching Red State. It's available streaming on Netflix now. If you haven't seen it, go take a look.

I love Kevin Smith's movies, but make no mistake, this is NOTHING like any movie he has made before.

Michael Parks and John Goodman deserve Oscar nominations. It was great dialogue and they both knocked it out of the park.

 

[JD]

It's an interesting, schizophrenic ride that's for sure. I like the movie a lot - but, I am an admitted Kevin Smith fan (I saw Red State months ago at a screening/Q&A).

The movie goes in quite a few different directions... and I love the ending. It's very violent and in all honesty... it's kind of fun, when you know some of the behind of the scenes stuff.

 

[rodneyfaile]

It's an interesting, schizophrenic ride that's for sure. I like the movie a lot - but, I am an admitted Kevin Smith fan (I saw Red State months ago at a screening/Q&A).

The movie goes in quite a few different directions... and I love the ending. It's very violent and in all honesty... it's kind of fun, when you know some of the behind of the scenes stuff.

I loved the ending too. Goodman crushed it. Smith makes great movies and this one is his best. Very different. Not a comedy. He says "Hit Somebody" (hockey movie) is going to be his last. I hope that isn't true.

 

[handler]

I just saw this, too. Excellent acting. I havent seen John Goodman since Arachnophobia.

 

[JD]

I loved the ending too. Goodman crushed it. Smith makes great movies and this one is his best. Very different. Not a comedy. He says "Hit Somebody" (hockey movie) is going to be his last. I hope that isn't true.

I'll agree with most of this.

Goodman and Parks were spot on.... I do think Parks' sermon near the begining of the movie went on a little too long.

Smith calls Red State a horror movie. How would you classify it? I can't really call it a horror movie - it might start out feeling that way, but it never really reached anything close to what I consider a horror film.

I still find Chasing Amy to be his best movie. It's an incredibly moving piece of film for me that I didn't appreciate until years and years after my first watch.

 

[Noeland]

My wife and I stopped in Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank NJ over the weekend. All kinds of merch and stuff from this was for sale there. My wife saw the posters and said "That doesn't look like a comedy."

 

[TK1536]

I saw this over a month ago and I still don't know what to think. It's obviously a "what-if the Westboro Baptists did this" kind of story, or maybe even a Waco Texas standoff re-telling. I thought the story was intriguing and of course, John Goodman's acting was stellar. But I still felt it was unnecessary, especially how some of the people were executed. Years ago, I loved this kind of stuff but I think as I've gotten older I just don't need to see films like this anymore.

But, as someone who abhors fanatical religious people, I did get a good "fist pump yeah" at the end, even if constitutionally messed up.

 

[badmojo]

I loved the fact that Phelp's daughter & followers were invited to a showing, but walked out after 10 minutes and protested out front. Talk about great publicity.

 

[Egon Spengler]

So what happens at the end?

 

[Solo4114]

So what happens at the end?

Kevin Spacey was Keyser Soze!!

 

[rodneyfaile]

Smith calls Red State a horror movie. How would you classify it? I can't really call it a horror movie - it might start out feeling that way, but it never really reached anything close to what I consider a horror film.

I dont think its a horror either, but still very good.

I still find Chasing Amy to be his best movie. It's an incredibly moving piece of film for me that I didn't appreciate until years and years after my first watch.

Im not going to say Mallrats is his best movie, but its just the one that fits for me. I can watch it over and over again.

 

[Qrest Fourstar]

Cool, a thread on this movie.

I saw it on VOD back in sept. Certainly not your typical Kvein Smith film. Being an avid listener to his podcasts had to take a look.

Spoiler

Goodman and parks- fantastic acting, but what made me not like the film as a whole was the fact none of the boys escape. And I hate that when it happens in a film. The person(or in this case persons) I'm rooting for loose. Just brought me down. And then the dialog at the end the line "patriot act b#tch" and "Coke can C@cks" totally took me out of the film. That's Kevin Smith talking, not the characters-on an otherwise TOTALLY mature and unique film by the man.

The highest complement I can give the film is that it reminded me of Martin Scorses's The Departed. I liked that film up until the end on the elevator with DiCaprio for the same reason mentioned above,

 

[Nwerke]

Aww damn. I don't usually care one way or the other about spoilers but having read a really positive, almost spoiler-free review, and being a Smith fan from way back, I was kind of psyched for this movie...guess it's on me; the thread title doesn't forbid spoilers...but still dude, giving away (a major part of) the end?

I exact Spelling Nazi revenge: Kevin. Lose. Compliment. Oh, and . not ,

 

[Qrest Fourstar]

Sorry. Wasn't my intention. However, there is more going on than just the story of the boys.

 

[Russ257]

you can go back and edit that post and use the spoiler tag.
I liked the film but it felt disjointed
part 1- teenage sex comedy
part 2- horror movie
part 3- action movie with stand off
part 4- political statement

I think if I watch it again I may get it more.

 

[JD]

HERE BE SPOILERS.

, but what made me not like the film as a whole was the fact none of the boys escape. And I hate that when it happens in a film. The person(or in this case persons) I'm rooting for loose. Just brought me down.

I'll agree with this (to some extent). It bugged me that none of (what we expected to be the) heroes of the film made it out alive. I guess it was expected that the one kid the Fed's shot to start the stand off and Parks' granddaughter to survive - afterall, every horror movie has the one survivor.

I guess it might be Smith's way of trying to stay outside the expected. I dunno - it would seem saving at least one of the 'heroes/protagonists' would somehow redeem the actions of the film.... or maybe it's just a way to switch protagonists throughout the 'acts' of the film. Just wild guesses here. Not having a token survivor bugs me a little - but not past the point of taking away my enjoyment of the film.

And then the dialog at the end the line "patriot act b#tch" and "Coke can C@cks" totally took me out of the film. That's Kevin Smith talking, not the characters-on an otherwise TOTALLY mature and unique film by the man.

Yeah, it became way too wordy at the end... it didn't take me out of the film but I felt it was somewhat of a cop out (heh) to not show the real ending and just talk about it. The guy talking to Goodman didn't fit too well.

If I remember correctly, the original ending (unfilmed) was supposed to be the actual Apocalypse.

 

[Solo4114]

I haven't seen the film, but from the sound of the ending, it could be similar to some of the more "downer" endings for various road movies from the 1960s and 1970s. I can think of four off the top of my head that have an ending like that:

Spoiler

1. Easy Rider
2. Vanishing Point
3. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
4. Race with the Devil

 

[Art Andrews]

Smith calls Red State a horror movie. How would you classify it?

Political and social propaganda is how I would classify it.

While the acting was great (with John Goodman being the stand out... but man did he look OLD!), I absolutely hated this movie and have no interest in being preached to by someone who has made their living from penis and weed jokes. It made a number of broad-sweeping generalizations and implications that would would have people absolutely frothing at the mouth in any other context.

 

[JD]

Political and social propaganda is how I would classify it.

While the acting was great (with John Goodman being the stand out... but man did he look OLD!), I absolutely hated this movie and have no interest in being preached to by someone who has made their living from penis and weed jokes. It made a number of broad-sweeping generalizations and implications that would would have people absolutely frothing at the mouth in any other context.

In all honesty, it's been Smith's preaching (and I definitely feel he's been preaching about this) about how Hollywood works and how he had to go outside the system that I'm tired of... and I am a pretty big Kevin Smith fan. We get it, Kevin: you had to go outside the box to make this movie and you're upset that Hollywood (which has provided a good living for you and your family) didn't want to make this movie for you and you had to find a different way to make it (just like how you found a way to make Clerks all those years ago).

But other than that, it was a very dark movie with little in the way of redeeming characters that I enjoyed and many consider to be Smith's best work. I don't think it's propaganda at all.

 

[Art Andrews]

I don't think this film is preaching about sex/religon/government (or anything) at all.

I completely disagree, but then, one of the interesting things in life is that we each take different things from any given event. To me, it felt very agenda driven.

He had an idea for a take on a horror film and made the movie. Yeah, parts of it are based (loosely) on the Westboro groups and how a clan like that might go to extremes - and there's the Waco aspect of it, too. Maybe that's how you feel it is preaching?

I do. Not going to get into it too deeply because of the religious aspect, and don't think for a second that I support people like the Westboro group in any way. Those people given humanity as well as organized religion a bad name. However, in my opinion, this went a bit beyond demonizing an extreme radical group. The anti-govt sentiment was no better. When I think about Smith's movies, some have an underlying message, but they are easily digestible because they are wrapped in humor. This movie didn't do that, which is fine if you want to be direct, but as for me, I am not interested in the message this one was harping on.

It's not a happy/feel good movie and has little in the way of redeeming characters - not everything has a happy ending and not everything has redemption.

I am completely fine with that. I tend to lean toward darker movies, but I wonder how this movie would have been received had the religious group been Muslim or if it had been a black church. Would people see it the same way they are seeing it now? Maybe I am wrong, but I don't think so. I think if it was any other type of group, people would be up in arms and claiming racism or some other form of prejudice.