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| Courtesy "The Giant Mechanical Man" Facebook page |
Saturday night we rented this movie, The Giant Mechanical Man from iTunes. I had never heard of it before, but it starred Jenna Fischer (who we both liked from The Office), and the trailer looked a lot more promising than the stupid-looking romantic comedies with their slapstick and crude humor.
The movie did not disappoint. It had a more artistic tone about it--fitting, since it dealt with two sensitive types trying to fit into the real world. The lead character, Tim (nicely played by Chris Messina), strives to achieve this by painting himself up as a silver, mechanical man... maybe you have seen them in New York City... they stand motionless and look like real statues, coming to life when someone drops money at their feet. I have seen some of these guys do a really awesome job with it... it's amazing, and an interesting way to earn money. Tim is also trying to make a statement with it... his girlfriend doesn't really understand... and so goes the idea of having a job where you really feel you are making a difference, and trying to do it through the arts.
I just got off the phone with one of my artistic collaborators, and talked a bit about the difficulty of funding projects... and sustaining them. Kickstarter is popular, and has proven successful. Sometimes I think about this in terms raising money to work on a film... or even buy equipment.
I can sympathize with the character in the film, but also understand the reality of needing to support yourself... some compromise is in order... but how much?
The other character in the film, Janice (played very similar to her Office character by Fischer), doesn't even have that much figured out. She doesn't know where she's going... and her sister tries to fix her up with a motivational speaker (sort of caricatured performance by Topher Grace, but funny because Sarah and I have had to sit through such speakers). It's not real, and she can feel it...
Janice finally accepts a rather menial job at the zoo (didn't know they were open in the winter, but hey...). Here, she runs into Tim, who she had actually "met" previously as the Mechanical Man. There is a spark, and common understanding... some soul. It was refreshing to see a movie that painted a more realistic relationship, more common concerns... like how do you get to the point of feeling fulfilled?
This felt like a very personal film for Director Lee Kirk. It turns out that he is married to Fischer, which makes it all the more meaningful. I liked his artistic sensibility... the colors of the film, and much of the dialogue... the performances were good, but I think Fischer needed a little more spark... it did feel like Pam from the TV show, and I think it works better there. But we were very happy that we rented it.
Now, why hadn't I heard of this film? It was an independent, so I'm not sure what kind of budget they had... but it's a shame that it didn't get seen by more people. Like I said, you are bombarded by this cookie-cutter movies that talk about relationships, and they seem to feel the need to include insulting, formulaic things that just cheapen it... I like the premise of The Five Year Engagement, but every time we watch the trailer and see the slapstick, we can't do it... of course, maybe it is just a badly edited trailer (I thought the latest Muppet movie was going to suck for that same reason).
But here's the thing... the movie obviously did have a budget, was released, and was good... so were they satisfied or let down? I wonder this with bands whose work I love, that fail to find or sustain an audience. How do you keep going, when you feel you're not finding your audience... or on a smaller scale, getting paid?
I was once offered a gig to be a statue at a party. I didn't have to paint myself silver, but it was a similar idea. I thought about it... even tried to practice in my apartment... see if I could hold the pose... it was tough... I got itchy. I ultimately turned down the gig, after some actor friends convinced me that they weren't offering enough money. But there was still the nagging feeling... wanting to prove to myself that I could pull off something that artistic... the money seemed less important in a way...
It's an ongoing struggle... I'm more about finding work that is fulfilling. But I would be lying if I didn't admit that finding some money dropped in that bucket sure helps to keep the creative machine moving...
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