Cloverfield

In search of light entertainment or, failing that, dumb entertainment, the Spouse and I went off to see this tonight. It is remarkably effective--much of the implausibility is covered up by the tight POV: it's a bunch of twenty-somethings with a video camera (which has led to comments I've heard about the Blair Monster Project). The twenty-somethings are all self-involved pretty people who, um, may learn and grow through the experience, but...well, the body count is pretty spectacular. Still, it works well enough that most of the things that would have had me groaning didn't bother me too much. And even some of those may have had a reason. For example: the hero is a middle-management guy who's about to leave for Tokyo and a vice presidency at some sort of firm there; his best friend, Hud (short for Hudson, not a reference to an old Paul Newman movie) is not only dumb as a post, but looks so dumb you expect a thin line of drool to come from the side of his mouth. Why would Rob, who may be self-involved and make stupid choices but is clearly not dumb, have as a friend a man who appears to be just this side of mental impairment? Ah, but...someone gives him the video camera early in the film and tells him to document the evening, and he's so dumb that he never stops filming. A smarter guy would have said "Fuck this!" and tossed the camera away, and there goes your movie. So even Hud has his place.

The film has no soundtrack per se: when the cast is at a party, there's music. When they're not, there is no music. In compensation there is the single worst piece of title music over the end of the film that I have ever sat through. It's called "Roar! (Cloverfield Overture)" and it partakes of every dumb movie soundtrack cliche you can think of, from howling altos to "footstomp" bass. It's like the bastard musical child of Godzilla and Carmina Burana.

I enjoyed it. I feel a little ashamed of having enjoyed it, but there it is. I am not immune to dumb fun.