Cast: Vincent Gallo, Chloë Sevigny
Director: Vincent Gallo
Producer: Vincent Gallo
Screenplay: Vincent Gallo
Cinematography: Vincent Gallo
Music: Ted Curson, Jackson C. Frank, Vincent Gallo
U.S. Distributor: Wellspring Media
From time-to-time, when high-profile hype collides with scathing advance screening reviews, the inevitable result is an ugly pre-release reputation. Such a reputation, once gained, can achieve critical mass in a short time. As one might expect, in some cases, like 2003's Gigli, it is (at least in part) undeserved. However, in other instances, such as The Brown Bunny, the movie turns out to be as bad as the advance word advertises.
The Brown Bunny is one long, self-indulgent bore topped off with a hard-core porn scene featuring Gallo and co-star Chloë Sevigny. (This sequence, rather than being erotic, is disturbing, not only because of the grim tone and grungy setting, but because there's a vague sense of exploitation surrounding it.) The first hour of the movie features, for the most part, Gallo sitting in his car as he makes a cross-country trek. We see shots through the front windshield, shots of Gallo's face, and shots over his shoulder. The only things that break the monotony are when Gallo stops for gas, talks to a senile old lady, picks up a prostitute (not for sex, though - he just wants to buy her lunch), or kisses a distraught stranger (played by '70s supermodel, Cheryl Tiegs). Eventually, he arrives in L.A., where he meets his girlfriend and receives a blow job.
It is worth noting that the film's closing moments offer something vaguely resembling a surprise twist, and that the revelation of what's really going on provides a sense of previously unrecognized psychological depth to The Brown Bunny. So there is value here - the problem is that it's unbearably painful to get to the point where it's realized. As for the blow job - it's real and explicit. Sevigny is Gallo's ex-girlfriend, so she has dismissed the act as doing something in front of the camera that she used to do in private (although one wonders how Gallo would have handled this with either Winona Ryder or Kirsten Dunst, who were other choices for the lead female role). But is it really necessary to the movie? Could the same emotional impact have been achieved without the inclusion of a hard-core scene? Regardless, this has become the only thing people talk about when they mention The Brown Bunny. It overshadows everything else.
It's hard to imagine how anyone could appreciate this movie, with its inane, repetitious, and pause-filled dialogue; non-existent plot; and stillborn character definition. This is a vanity project for Gallo. He fills nearly every role imaginable: director, producer, star, screenwriter, editor, and cinematographer. It all goes to prove that sometimes it's best not to work in a vacuum. Losing 95 minutes of my time to watch this film seems like a waste. I'm sure I could have come up with something more interesting to do with that lost hour and a half than watch bugs splatter against Gallo's windshield.
If there's one positive thing to be said about reviewing The Brown Bunny, it's that I'm probably too low-profile for Gallo to take notice of these nasty words. As a result, hopefully I'll be spared the kind of curse he allegedly leveled at Roger Ebert. Just to be safe, though, I'll keep an eye on my prostate in the near future, while hoping desperately that Gallo keeps to his promise not to make another motion picture. (Note: Ebert and Gallo have recently patched things up, so maybe the curse has been rescinded.)
© 2004 James Berardinelli