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As most of you know I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith. He was to my teenage years what Lucas and Spielberg were to my childhood. I also credit him for expanding my tastes to include a fondness and appreciation for dialogue heavy movies. And while I still love the guy and he is very good at what he does as a screenwriter; he is not the strongest director in terms of technical skill. You will never watch a Kevin Smith movie and recognize it is his movie from the shots, cuts or camera movement. You know you are watching a Kevin Smith movie from listening to the dialogue. And because of these limitations, he has stuck to targeting the cult fan base he has amassed since he made Clerks and stayed close to familiar territory for the most of his career. He largely stuck to smaller budgeted comedies with a core cast of actors and with Jay and Silent Bob as recurring characters. Staying from that norm has not always been kind to Kevin Smith. Jersey Girl is still a punch line to many people (even though I liked it) and when he tried to do a mainstream movie with a big named actor not named Ben Affleck in the lead we got Cop Out (which sucked). And it was actually after Cop Out where Kevin Smith made a change. He did something he never did. He made a horror movie, Red State. Fueled by a big performance by Richard Parks, Kevin Smith’s take on the Westboro Baptist Church was met with mixed reviews, and mixed responses from the general audience. I myself give Red State a , not a bad movie, but not that good either. But I did appreciate Kevin expanding his boundaries. And this movie Tusk is much the same, Kevin Smith taking serious risks. Unlike with Red State however, this movie (in my humble opinion) is where Kevin Smith succeeded.
This movie actually has a back story to it. Kevin Smith is a heavy duty pod caster now, and on episode 259 of SmodCast with uber producer Scott Mosier, they discussed an ad they found online. The advert (which turned out to be a hoax) was a rich old man who has lived a long and rich life at sea. Having settled down, he is willing to provide full board and meals to a lodger. The catch is the lodger for one hour a day, must wear a realistic walrus costume. The ad said the man was lost at sea for a bit, and came to know a great companionship with a walrus he befriended on an island. Now being rich, he wants to have that companionship again. In the costume the lodger would swim around, eat fish, and make walrus sounds. Never speaking like a person while in the costume. This caught the imagination of the very captivated (and very stoned) director. He came up with the idea that he could make a horror movie based on this concept. So he put to his Twitter followers a vote. If they wanted to see the movie, they should Tweet to him, #walrusyes. Only one person tweeted a negative response. So with a plethora of positive responses, Tusk was set to be produced.
The movie opens with a couple of podcasters played by Justin Long and Haley Joel Osment. They run a podcast called the Not See Party (not to be confused with the National Socialist movement) where Long’s character Wallace goes around the country to find and interview weird and interesting people. Afterwards he returns to tell his partner Teddy (Osment) what he saw. Wallace was set to interview one person while in Canada, but tragedy strikes and he is left without a story. Stopping at a bathroom in a bar, he comes across an ad at a urinal. The ad reads that an old rich man wishes to board a lodger who will help around the house, all the while sharing many stories about his life at sea. Wallace seeing an opportunity to salvage the episode agrees to meet the lodger Mr. Howe (Michael Parks). While at the house and over a cup of tea, the true intentions of the Mr. Howe are revealed. Mr. Howe is a very sick and twisted man with a sicker goal in mind. He wishes to turn Wallace into a walrus by constructing a walrus suit out of human skin. All the while Teddy and Wallace’s girlfriend Alley search all of Manitoba trying to find him and hoping they are not too late.
Despite the genre being different from what Kevin Smith s used to, this feels like a Kevin Smith movie. In casting Justin Long, Smith works with a cast member he has experience with. Both on Live Free or Die Hard (as an actor) but also as a director since Long was also in Zak and Miri Make a Porno. We also have cameos by several people close to Smith. His wife Jennifer Schwalbach plays a waitress, his daughter Harley Quinn Smith plays a teenage convenience store clerk, fellow podcaster from Hollywood Babble-On Ralph Garman is in the movie, and friend Harley Morenstein (of Epic Meal Time) plays a Canadian Border Agent. Speaking of his daughter Harley Quinn, her friend Lily-Rose Depp is in the movie as one of Harley’s co workers. And her father Johnny Depp (yes THAT Johnny Depp) has a role as a former Quebec law enforcement officer searching for Howe. The film’s dialogue is Smith’s creation without question. And like with plenty of Kevin Smith dialogue, he does delve into the blue and silly humor early on and toward the end. But the tone and language does shift significantly when Michael Parks is on screen. HOLY HELL MICAEL PARKS IS TERRIFYING IN THIS MOVIE! The highlight of Red State was brought back for this flick, and this is also one of the big reasons to see this! Park’s performance is downright unnerving, cruel, sadistic, and darkly humorous. If you thought the concept of this movie was silly, Michael Parks makes you take it VERY seriously. The other reason to be interested in this movie is the final reveal of the Walrus costume, which has been built up quite a bit on the Kevin Smith podcasts. And while I admit I did not get quite what I expected from the costume, it was still creepy as hell. Heck I still can’t get the image out of my head. Justin Long in a walrus costume, crying, no tongue, and eyes full of terror and disbelief was one hell of a sight. Eyes that send shivers down my spine. Not going to lie, this was a pretty damn disturbing movie. I found it very effective.
If you are a Kevin Smith fan and want to see him broaden his horizons, see this movie. If you are just curious check it out anyways.
As most of you know I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith. He was to my teenage years what Lucas and Spielberg were to my childhood. I also credit him for expanding my tastes to include a fondness and appreciation for dialogue heavy movies. And while I still love the guy and he is very good at what he does as a screenwriter; he is not the strongest director in terms of technical skill. You will never watch a Kevin Smith movie and recognize it is his movie from the shots, cuts or camera movement. You know you are watching a Kevin Smith movie from listening to the dialogue. And because of these limitations, he has stuck to targeting the cult fan base he has amassed since he made Clerks and stayed close to familiar territory for the most of his career. He largely stuck to smaller budgeted comedies with a core cast of actors and with Jay and Silent Bob as recurring characters. Staying from that norm has not always been kind to Kevin Smith. Jersey Girl is still a punch line to many people (even though I liked it) and when he tried to do a mainstream movie with a big named actor not named Ben Affleck in the lead we got Cop Out (which sucked). And it was actually after Cop Out where Kevin Smith made a change. He did something he never did. He made a horror movie, Red State. Fueled by a big performance by Richard Parks, Kevin Smith’s take on the Westboro Baptist Church was met with mixed reviews, and mixed responses from the general audience. I myself give Red State a , not a bad movie, but not that good either. But I did appreciate Kevin expanding his boundaries. And this movie Tusk is much the same, Kevin Smith taking serious risks. Unlike with Red State however, this movie (in my humble opinion) is where Kevin Smith succeeded.
This movie actually has a back story to it. Kevin Smith is a heavy duty pod caster now, and on episode 259 of SmodCast with uber producer Scott Mosier, they discussed an ad they found online. The advert (which turned out to be a hoax) was a rich old man who has lived a long and rich life at sea. Having settled down, he is willing to provide full board and meals to a lodger. The catch is the lodger for one hour a day, must wear a realistic walrus costume. The ad said the man was lost at sea for a bit, and came to know a great companionship with a walrus he befriended on an island. Now being rich, he wants to have that companionship again. In the costume the lodger would swim around, eat fish, and make walrus sounds. Never speaking like a person while in the costume. This caught the imagination of the very captivated (and very stoned) director. He came up with the idea that he could make a horror movie based on this concept. So he put to his Twitter followers a vote. If they wanted to see the movie, they should Tweet to him, #walrusyes. Only one person tweeted a negative response. So with a plethora of positive responses, Tusk was set to be produced.
The movie opens with a couple of podcasters played by Justin Long and Haley Joel Osment. They run a podcast called the Not See Party (not to be confused with the National Socialist movement) where Long’s character Wallace goes around the country to find and interview weird and interesting people. Afterwards he returns to tell his partner Teddy (Osment) what he saw. Wallace was set to interview one person while in Canada, but tragedy strikes and he is left without a story. Stopping at a bathroom in a bar, he comes across an ad at a urinal. The ad reads that an old rich man wishes to board a lodger who will help around the house, all the while sharing many stories about his life at sea. Wallace seeing an opportunity to salvage the episode agrees to meet the lodger Mr. Howe (Michael Parks). While at the house and over a cup of tea, the true intentions of the Mr. Howe are revealed. Mr. Howe is a very sick and twisted man with a sicker goal in mind. He wishes to turn Wallace into a walrus by constructing a walrus suit out of human skin. All the while Teddy and Wallace’s girlfriend Alley search all of Manitoba trying to find him and hoping they are not too late.
Despite the genre being different from what Kevin Smith s used to, this feels like a Kevin Smith movie. In casting Justin Long, Smith works with a cast member he has experience with. Both on Live Free or Die Hard (as an actor) but also as a director since Long was also in Zak and Miri Make a Porno. We also have cameos by several people close to Smith. His wife Jennifer Schwalbach plays a waitress, his daughter Harley Quinn Smith plays a teenage convenience store clerk, fellow podcaster from Hollywood Babble-On Ralph Garman is in the movie, and friend Harley Morenstein (of Epic Meal Time) plays a Canadian Border Agent. Speaking of his daughter Harley Quinn, her friend Lily-Rose Depp is in the movie as one of Harley’s co workers. And her father Johnny Depp (yes THAT Johnny Depp) has a role as a former Quebec law enforcement officer searching for Howe. The film’s dialogue is Smith’s creation without question. And like with plenty of Kevin Smith dialogue, he does delve into the blue and silly humor early on and toward the end. But the tone and language does shift significantly when Michael Parks is on screen. HOLY HELL MICAEL PARKS IS TERRIFYING IN THIS MOVIE! The highlight of Red State was brought back for this flick, and this is also one of the big reasons to see this! Park’s performance is downright unnerving, cruel, sadistic, and darkly humorous. If you thought the concept of this movie was silly, Michael Parks makes you take it VERY seriously. The other reason to be interested in this movie is the final reveal of the Walrus costume, which has been built up quite a bit on the Kevin Smith podcasts. And while I admit I did not get quite what I expected from the costume, it was still creepy as hell. Heck I still can’t get the image out of my head. Justin Long in a walrus costume, crying, no tongue, and eyes full of terror and disbelief was one hell of a sight. Eyes that send shivers down my spine. Not going to lie, this was a pretty damn disturbing movie. I found it very effective.
If you are a Kevin Smith fan and want to see him broaden his horizons, see this movie. If you are just curious check it out anyways.