Movie Review: “Bummer” and “Johnny Firecloud”
The 1970’s were an interesting time for Hollywood filmmakers. The 1960’s saw the arrival of the rating system and the subsequent explosion of exploitation films. Hollywood had finally figured out the best way to fight against television wasn’t to make films in 3D, or to make films bigger (Cinerama) – but to sell people with sex (thank you “Psycho”).
So, suddenly, sex was something that not only could get you an audience but something that you could also explore. The fact that “Midnight Cowboy” won the Best Picture Oscar AND be “X” rated to boot this seemed to herald in a new kind of film…the exploitation film. Certainly exploitation films had been around since the first flammable film stock wound its way through a shutter, but filmmakers like Roger Corman started exploring films that were just straight up EXPLOITATION with a capital EX. In other words: sex and violence and nudity layered on top of a threadbare plot. Usually these were done in a way with a wink to the audience and a smile on the face and you weren’t supposed to take them seriously. Crown International Pictures continued these films with such classics as “The Van” and “Pom-Pom Girls” – exactly what you think they are.
But then, a few films were made that tried to cross a line from exploitation to SERIOUS while also keeping their exploitation roots. In other words: “Let’s have a lot of sex, nudity and violence but…let’s preach them a message, too.”
As filmmakers like Coppola and Scorsese and Kubrick and Cimino were making SERIOUS SERIOUS films like “The Godfather” and “Taxi Driver” and “Barry Lyndon” and “The Deer Hunter” – other studios took notice. These were cutting edge filmmakers at the tops of their games. They were being handed awards right and left (okay, not Scorsese) and they were completely dominating the market – a market much different than it is today. So no wonder other companies and/or filmmakers wanted to give this a shot…while also keeping their exploitive roots.
But…here’s the problem. If you go to see a product, if you go to buy a product, you don’t necessarily think that what you end up with is, well, what you wanted. Take for instance that you want a pepperoni pizza. You don’t necessarily want to go and pick it up and take a bite and have it taste terrible because the pizza maker decided to make it with organic flour and free range chicken pepperoni and unsalted cheese and vitamin enriched sauce (because they want to make it good for you). You want a pepperoni pizza – it doesn’t have to be good for you.
I’m reminded of the 80’s film “Last American Virgin” which sold itself as a raunchy teen comedy and ends up being a pretty serious film. Who wants that when you want some T&A?
“Bummer” and “Johnny Firecloud” are those “exploitation with a message” films. “Bummer” is about an up-and-coming rock band. Never mind the obscure logic and reasoning behind most of it as they’re supposedly REALLY HOT but…aren’t (and their music sucks). Enter a couple young groupies and before you can say bong-water they’re all getting down and getting funky. There’s one problem, though, and that’s the fat creepy bass player who also owns the “tour” van. He’s got some serious head-case problems and treats the groupies and other hangers-on like dirt – calling all the women pigs (and worse). Now, of course, logically, the other members of the group would tell the fat bastard to just take a hike and get the hell out but, for some reason, they just kind of “let it go.” All the while he’s drinking alcohol and driving, etc.
Due to his bad behavior, a gig they were supposed to have for a week – gets them cut short to just a day and they’re back on the road. Again, no one confronts the guy, no one really does anything. And, even though we’re getting the normal exploitation of sex and nudity – we’re getting the undertones of: THIS IS SERIOUS!! I won’t spoil it for you, but rest assured it doesn’t end on a happy note and more than one person is killed. Bummer.
I would say out of five joints, I’d give “Bummer” a one and a half joint.
The next film “Johnny Firecloud” is cut from the same cloth. This film, though, had some serious backing as 20th Century Fox distributed it (and possibly produced it, too). Most studios kept exploitation films at arms length during this period. No money to be made there (until “Jaws” came along – thank you, “Jaws”) but to see the searchlight stamp of approval, I was impressed. They must have seen SOMETHING worthy in this film, though it’s not in Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide.
Johnny is a fresh-from-Vietnam solider, returning to a small town as a war hero of sorts. Still, though, he’s an “injun” and the town folk, especially the richest man in town – don’t care for these types. Johnny’s grandfather, a former chief, has been reduced to mopping up a bar at night and being paid in whiskey.
Because of Johnny’s service to the nation – no one really picks on him too much – but it’s pretty clear he’s not liked. And the only reason Johnny came back was to be with the evil rich guy’s daughter – who spends her time drinkin’ and depressed. Seems she had gotten pregnant with Johnny’s baby and her father had successfully stopped all her letters going to Johnny and all his letters coming in. Did I say he was evil?
Much like the film “Straw Dogs” (a Peckinpah film from 1971) – you can only push one man so far…until he fights back. And finally, after enough cardboard characters do enough damage, Johnny begins to fight back – killing each one. Sascheen Littlefeather (known to most people as the gal who refused Marlon Brando’s Academy Award for The Godfather) is another love interest or something.
Where each character in “Johnny Firecloud” is, pretty much, a cookie cutter one-dimensional goofball, there’s one character that stands out: The Sheriff. Played by David Canary. Now, I had gotten to “know” David Canary from having watched years of the soap opera “All My Children” and he was great as Adam Chandler. In this film, he’s portrayed as a guy twisting in the wind between doing the right thing and doing what the rich guy wants. The rich guy controls him because he had a bit of an “indiscretion” in the army and was caught with another guy. What I found refreshing about this angle is that it doesn’t overwhelm the story. He doesn’t go off on how it’s “all made-up” or “I’m not gay!” or “I like women!!” He just says: “I got kicked out for being a homosexual.” And that’s that. What could have been the elephant in the room is just handled very honestly and to the point. Typically in exploitation films, things are not handled honestly and to the point – they’re exploited for all their worth.
When Johnny Firecloud finally starts killing all the cardboard characters, I couldn’t help but anticipate when he finally kills the big evil bad guy. And… SPOILER ALERT… he doesn’t – setting up for, I assume, a sequel. Shrug.
Still for “revenge films” this was pretty good and it had the prerequisite exploitational moments that you would expect. But, well acted – for the most point, with some thought out characters.
Out of five eagle feathers, I give it 3.5
No comments:
Post a Comment