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ENTERTAINMENT
BATTALION
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Thursday,February 19, 2004
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“The Butterfly Effect”
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New Line Cinema
Starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart
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tennis balls. Ultimately, not one scene lives up the standard set by
“Super Troopers.”
“Club Dread” is a semi-coherent murder mystery that has come
dy sprinkled in for good measure. The actual mystery is somewhat
haphazard and sloppy, but the comedy that orbits it helps to distract
from the shallow plot. Not quite a horror movie, the film will have
audience members shrieking and laughing within seconds. While
watching the movie, audiences will enjoy themselves and won’t feel
the minutes slowly churning as in some other comedies, but at the
same time, when audiences leave the theater, there won’t be the feel-
“Broken Lizard’s Club Dread’
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Starring Bill Paxton and Jimmy
Chandrashekhar
It’s hard to watch Broken Lizard’s new movie “Club Dread”
iout comparing it to the comedy troupe’s previous offering,
Super Troopers.” Both movies feature the talented group of come-
in a respective sub-genre of mock-comedy that is often over
sell in today’s Hollywood.
i “Club Dread,” Bill Paxton plays aging rock star Coconut Pete,
is known for his not-quite-a-hit song “Pinacoladaburg” which
»as obscured by a similarly named song from a different artist,
fa Pete opens an island resort, it becomes the site of several gris-
Beginning with what has now become a staple for horror movies,
ee attractive camp counselors are brutally murdered while engag-
in promiscuous sex instead of doing their jobs. From that point
the movie quickly introduces the comedy troupe’s cast of char
ters that help partially save the movie from mediocrity: Jay
liandrasekhar dons an unruly mop of dreadlocked hair to portray
i, the island’s tennis instructor; Steve Lemme utilizes a bad
atin accent to portray Juan, the diving instructor; Paul Soter is
fee, the island DJ/drug dealer; and Erik Stolhanske plays Sam,
xal officer of the fun police.
By itself, “Club Dread” is an above-average comedy that features
arne really funny scenes. Bill Paxton is hilarious as the aged rock-
i’s more interested in the carnal pleasures than actually run-
Hj> his resort. Some of the death scenes are laugh-out-loud funny,
specially Putman’s last-ditch effort to stop the killer with a volley
fanis balls. Ultimately, not one scene lives up the standard set by
ing of greatness that marks classic films of this genre.
Perhaps in time, when the Broken Lizard troupe has a few more
movies under their belt and the actors are freed from the characters
that helped make them, “Club Dread” will be remembered more
fondly. But for now, don’t expect the movie to make waves.
ppp;
- Robert Saucedo
Phot Couhtw o» • NEW LINE CINEMA
liliton Kutcher ploys Evan Treyborn, who is plagued with repressed mem-
and tries to fix the present by going bock in time.
The Chaos Theory, used as the basis for the film “The Butterfly
[tct" is exemplified by the following scenario: With one butter •
|'s flap of a wing, a typhoon can eventually ravage Asia. “The
Sierfly Effect” derives its name not only from the aforementioned
.tec philosophical theory, but also from a short story by Ray
in which a time traveler creates a mess out of history by
ig a butterfly during the prehistoric era.
elmed by writers-tumed-directors Eric Bress and J. Mackye
iniber, the writing team behind “Final Destination 2,” “The
Effect,” staring Ashton Kutcher in a surprisingly well-
;layed role, quickly turns into a highly-entertaining popcom-flick
ialcomes close to being an excellent psychological thriller.
In a classic episode of “The Simpsons,” Grandpa Simpson gives
mersome advice on his wedding day: “If you ever travel back in
ime,don’t step on anything ... because even the tiniest change can
ter the future in ways you can’t imagine." If only Evan Trebom
had been given that same bit of advice, he would have
ttnamuch happier time traveler.
After the first half- hour of the movie, audiences will be in no
sition to dispute Trebom’s claims that he had a rotten childhood,
jut being a victim of child pornography to having his dog killed
tj a sadistic friend, Trebom’s happy childhood memories are few
udfarbetween. Of course, that’s excluding the portions of it he
oesti’lremember. Since childhood, Trebom has been afflicted with
lackouts that have left chunks of his life unaccounted for. To rem-
J|tliisproblem, Trebom’s psychologist recommends he write jour
nals that may help jog his memory. It isn’t until college that Trebom
riiaes reading his journals will allow him to travel through time
change the past. One fumble after another follows as Trebom
ages to muddle his life even more by changing the wrong parts
lisiiast, leading to depressing futures for him and his friends.
\itnces looking for Kutcher-esqe high jinks within “The
rfj Effect” will instead find situations and ideas that will
ethem squirming in their seats. The movie tackles everything
i extreme violence among children to prison rape. Kutcher
hies from one awkward state of affairs to another, as he finds
keif in parallel realities that have been created by tampering
thtime’s fabric.
The movie contains an outstanding supporting cast that helps in
crafting a credible actor out of Kutcher. Flashbacks comprise a
joodportion of the film, and the presence of talented child actors is
initely a plus.
Logan Lerman (7-year-old Trebom) plays off his surroundings
ih a cool, collected composure, while Jesse James (13-year-old
tamy) bursts with so much repressed anger and hatred that he
ranscends his short stature to become one of the creepiest children
uliit cinemas in a long time. Elden Henson (Lenny), besides bear-
striking resemblance to talented actor Philip Seymour
, is developing his acting capacity in great strides with each
aovie he appears in. Amy Smart and William Lee Scott also turn in
omendable performances as Trebom’s doomed lover and her
rother, Amy Smart’s ability to play such different versions of the
ame character is commendable, to say the least.
pushing the boundaries of taste, the movie’s main fault
Jonically lies in that the only thing that would have made it better is
lithad actually pushed harder. The movie flies in the face of excel-
ince, but just manages to skim the surface with its dedication to
lied and true narrative structure. Without giving away the ending,
lie can safely say that, if the directors had just tacked on an extra
Id seconds to the final shot, the movie could have become a classic
lovie like “Planet of the Apes” is today.
While not for the weak-hearted or closed-minded, “The Butterfly
fed” deserves a viewing or two from audiences that are willing to
;e a chance on an actor who is more famous for his off-screen
micsthan his acting. If those viewers do take a chance, it’s highly
fable they’ll enjoy what they see.
- Robert Saucedo
s Co
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