For a moment, it was 1966. Within a beat it was 1963. November 1963. You know what happens when you have movies set in November of 1963, don't you? But don't be afraid. This isn't Yet Another Film Symbolizing the Loss of Innocence via the Kennedy Assassination.
This is Dogfight, a little sleeper starring River Phoenix that I always meant to grab from the video rental shelves, but never quite managed it. Tonight it was on one of the movie channels, so I was finally able to check it off the great unwritten To Do list in my mind.
The premise of the film is that we have a group of Marines who are partial to holding a contest called a "dogfight." Everyone puts in a share of money with the objective being to bring the ugliest date they can find. The winner takes the pool, and as the rules say that they must be polite, so in theory no girl knows they've been set up to be mocked.
Seeing River Phoenix as a macho, brainless, military stereotype was an unusual experience. I should say right now that I am not a drooling fan of River, but I have sometimes felt like his apologist. I thought he was a good actor. I'm sorry about how he died, and I understand why so many people have become disgusted with him over that, but I still like his acting. Sure, sometimes he wasn't anything special, but in many films he gave a reliable performance.
So when I say that River seems dulled and uncertain throughout the movie, almost like he was under the influence of something, I'm not being catty. Maybe he was supposed to be playing a person with little depth or fascination. Either way, I wasn't keen on it.
And I was trying so hard not to be prejudiced, because in the beginning of the film we're subjected to a lot of the loud-mouthed, arrogant, jarhead (Marine) attitude which in real life has given me an unfortunate bias. You see okay-enough military guys being full of swag, I see my tax dollars being pissed away on people who think they're just a little bit better than the rest of us. But that's all for another topic, and not fair to go into when there isn't the opportunity to also commend certain aspects of the armed forces and those who are a part of them. I only mention it as a matter of full disclosure. I wasn't ready to be too sympathetic to this bunch of louts.
But then I was a little touched when the rowdy boys split up and began their pursuit of a homely date. The guys were kind of nice, and awkward, as any young man looking for a date can be. You start forgiving their cruel purpose as something more innocent. Maybe you even smile at some of the lines they pull, and cheer a little for the women who see right through them. You think that by the time the film is done, we're going to see some meaningful transformations. Sounds good to me.
When River's character, still unsuccessful in his acquisition attempts as the hour grows late, walks into a coffeeshop, he's also walking into the territory of Rose. Rose is played by the generally under-appreciated Lili Taylor. (We'll just forgive her part in the massacre of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, shall we?)
Rose, an aspiring folksinger who works in her mother's cafe, has her back turned to the camera when River spies her on break, practicing guitar. He wanders over... is he interested in the music or hopeful that she'll be a Medusa? Frankly, we never know, because like I said, his character is just not that forthcoming or deep. But it's his lucky day. Rose turns around and, sure enough, she's no one's idea of a Ford Agency candidate. (For what it's worth, I think that's a good thing.)
One thing leads to another, and for reasons that I'll put down to sheer boredom, for I never saw the chemistry, Rose agrees to go with this Marine (his name is Eddie, by the way) to "a dance." But on their way over Eddie sees Rose in the streetlight, when she's smiling and gracious while helping him with a problem, and apparently a 5-watt lightbulb switches on above his noggin. Enough for him to suggest they don't go to this dance, but not enough to do so convincingly. And they're off; the date with mean destiny is still on.
It's at this point that you expect Eddie to be on the path to redemption, but he's not. He drinks too much, he's loud, he swears, he's inconsiderate. With hindsight I'd say that he's supposed to be portraying someone with a problem on his mind, but... eh, I think he's just obnoxious and dull.
Somewhere around this time, as I looked at all of the "ugly" women brought to the dance, I realized that I avoided this movie with good subconscious reason. These women aren't ugly. They're not coifed conventional beauties, and maybe they're a little unsteady with the hairspray and lipstick just because they're young and inexperienced, but no one deserves this. As someone who doesn't fit the conventional definition of beauty herself, maybe I took it too personally. But I thought, "Geez, I don't want to waste my time with people like this." Meaning the jerks who set up the dogfight, even if the are just names in a movie script. Because I know there are dogfights going on in the world. And I know that the line between what is "accepted" as good-looking and what isn't is an infuriating blur in the shifting sand. I hate such vain madness, and I didn't want to see a bunch of people who were being persecuted for not being Barbie dolls get hurt.
But I stuck with the film because I wanted to see what happened. I have to hand it to the director. She could have had us cringing for an hour, worrying about the predictable moment when feelings start getting trampled. Instead, this was dispensed with quickly, and we were able to move on to developing the companionship between Rose and Eddie. As terrible as such revelation would be in real life, downplaying it in the movie somehow made it more real. Ultimately lives do not center around whether someone finds you attractive, right?
And that's all I'm handing to the director, because I felt the rest of the story was spun by bored hands. Or was it just me who was bored? Part of me thinks this film deserves to be remade. Even get Lili Taylor again for the part of Rose. There is the potential for a touching and unique romance.
I take it back - I will give the director credit for something else. Someone with less ambition could easily have marred the story with a "true love conquers all" sort of thing between Rose and Eddie. Normally I like that, but I just couldn't see sparks between these two. I wasn't even sure if I could see long-term friendship. I did see a great opportunity for two people to have a wonderful time together for just a little while, and enjoying it for what it was. Which sort of happened, but not entirely. Maybe this blandness was supposed to keep you guessing, but I thought the director simply wasn't sure of what she wanted this couple to be. It was difficult to pin your hopes on anything. In the end, you just wish them well and start cleaning your toenails.
That's really the whole problem. The bland uncertainty throughout the movie. While Eddie and Rose explore the sights together, Eddie's buddies are participating in what could be funny or insightful moments, but come across as filler distractions. Am I missing some subtle and poignant moments there? Perhaps. (But I don't think so.)
And somehow I want to pin a lot of the fault on River Phoenix, or whoever advised him to be so flat and unconvincing. Lili Taylor is not at her best either. It's clear that Rose is fun, funny, not afraid to take initiative, and a thinking girl with a sweet temper. Yet she seems reserved, and if we know these things about her it's because they're pointed out to us.
Just when I thought the film had ended, with an unexpected and disappointing ending, it was 1966 once more. Oops, I forgot that we spent 97% of the film in flashback. After all, this was a Vietnam-bound Marine and a peacenik homebody - don't we want to know where things were three years later? Nope. They lost me for good an hour ago. So when it was time for the slightly more expected ending, I smiled wanly and yawned.
Excellent premise, interesting ability to avoid certain cliché outcomes, boring delivery. Notable performance by E.G. Daily as Marcie. Maybe it's all her fault. Why? Because she seemed so "likely" when she was known as Elizabeth Daily, but since becoming "E.G." she has become one of those actresses who has done a lot of good work, but not the amount and type you would expect. Maybe she put "The E.G. Curse" on this film. Okay, probably not. Hey, if nothing else, I've now heard Silver Dagger as performed by Joan Baez and will be snagging a copy soon. For that, I am grateful to Dogfight. But I still feel cheated out of the other hour and thirty-seven minutes of my life.
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