Schizopolis (1997)

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Explaining Schizopolis seems counterintuitive. The movie is a mixture of autobiographical self- examination and self-deprecation. At the same time the film seems to be tackling some larger cultural themes and postmodern concepts of language and communication. In the end, I think the movie is a fun assortment of ideas being exercised together in a rather harmless fashion. Schizopolis never seems to take itself seriously, the movie is made on a small-budget, with a purposefully contained cast, self-aware and referential humor, taking stabs at life, narratives, movies, culture, and humanity while never entirely aiming at any single target (except perhaps the filmmaker himself). I recommend this movie not because it is a fully realized concept (because it isn't) or because it is a hidden gem that must be discovered (because it isn't) but it is refreshing to see an experimental film created playfully, aware of its self-indulgence and entirely at ease with it.

Movies like Lost Highway, American Beauty and other high-profile, big-budget productions have been praised for their original takes, but in fact it was "Schizopolis" that explored those possibilities first. I find it refreshing and inexplicably underrated. The film is a very funny and bizarre look into the creative mind of its author, Steven Soderbergh. Press conferences on horse urination, marital dissolution, dysfunctional families, work, love, death, identity, the hilarious (and tragic) absurdity of life– everything is scrutinized here under a mask of randomness which makes everything unpredictable and crazy funny. "Schizopolis" gleefully delves into the absurd and blends it with satire in a most original social commentary, mocking all conventions and confinements. This type of humor is my kind. For fans of Kafka, Eugene Ionesco and Urmuz, Samuel Beckett, Kurt Vonnegut or David Lynch, this will be a blast. On a third viewing, all this "mess" makes perfect sense, and it's beautiful. "Sneeze!"

The first time I saw this film I was entertained and mildly confused by what I had just witnessed, it primarily represents a satiric look at modern life Pre Office Space, but saying just that does not do the picture justice. The combination of surrealism, satire and general creativity make this film worth while and most importantly worthy of multiple viewings. At times it feels as though it is being weird for the sake of weird but remains to peak curiosity. Some very funny situations and lines. Not for everyone, but for those looking for something different and willing to keep an open mind this is an excellent, original film. If you want loud bangs and shiny things, watch Soderberghs other films like Ocean 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 etc.

I will echo a comment that someone made about -The Big Lebowski- (my #1 favorite comedy followed by this delightful mess). "Warning: this film transmits on a strictly limited wavelength." If you don't catch this curveball, you're likely to be bored. I won't say that if you don't like it on first viewing, then you're never going to like it. In my case, certain movies get more enjoyable on repeat viewings even after receiving a ho-hum response the first time around. This is one of those movies. With a narrative more fractured than your average David Lynch film, there are connections between one scene and another that jump out and take notice only on repeat viewings, sort of like "portals" from one part of the movie to another. Music that plays, pictures shown on the wall, one-sided phone conversations, that sort of thing. Aside from the already-limited-wavelength humor, these amplify the laugh factor. This is a movie destined for some kind of limited cult-following someday, but keeping to a murmur level when you're standing next to an air conditioner. The Criterion DVD has some good features and outtakes, like the "Maximum Busy Muscle" segment extolling the virtues of all products vinyl.Update Nov. '06. Re-watching this almost on a whim, and it all comes together (such as it is) even more. This is truly hilarious, a comedy masterpiece reveling in all its many absurdities, which come one after the other at a highly accelerated rate. I'm upping my vote from 9 to 10."You will learn something from me here today." --Elmo Oxygen (Noooo!!! Oooogghghgh!!)