Mister Lonely (Harmony Korine)

So this should suck, shouldn't it? A simulation of a simulcra. A messy post-modern examination of identity disorders. A new, post-rehab, "conventional" Harmony Korine movie.

The plot is fairly straightforward. A Michael Jackson impersonater meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonater while both are working at an old folks home in Paris (the scene where Michael is urging the geriatric crowd to live - crying "Don't die! Don't die!" as he dances around drooling, senial seniors in wheelchairs and rockers - is touching, disturbing, and basically hilarious). Marilyn invites Michael to come back to her home in Scotland, where she shares a castle with her husband (Charlie Chaplin), their daughter (Shirley Temple), and a motley crew of other professional impersonaters (Abraham Lincoln, James Dean, Little Red Riding Hood, Buckwheat, the Three Stooges, the Pope, and the Queen). The film works towards the opening night of their variety show, staged in a shabby, homemade shack on the estate. At the same time, Werner Herzog plays a Catholic priest delivering food in Latin America. On a delivery mission, one of the nuns falls from the delivery plane and survives. She claims it is a miracle - divine recognition of her faith. She urges her sisters to make the same leap of faith.

Granted, Mister Lonely may be too straight for lovers of Gummo and Julien Donkey-Boy, but it's far from mainstream (if it must be said, PLEASE don't listen to the fanboy detractors or the critics). The plot is still a mess, the characters are all half insane, and Werner Herzog milks his cameo for all its wierd glory. But every so often, Korine punctuates the film with beautiful, heartbreaking moments. I challenge anyone with a heart not to be touched by the scene of drunken, deranged Charlie Chaplin babbling incoherently about the government mandated slaughter of his entire flock of sheep. Or when a weary, emotionally frayed Monroe tells her husband that he may play Charlie Chaplin, but he sometimes reminds her of Hitler. Or the beautiful, chilling final beach scene.

Mister Lonely is an imperfect film. It looses focus at times and meanders. It was critically panned, and even Korine buffs seem to hate it. I didn't.

Mister Lonely (Harmony Korine): 8/10