Dogs in Space

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🎙️ EPISODE 274: 07.09.20 While Dogs in Space certainly drags in spots, it's noteworthy for its proto-Slacker tone, plotless plot and "too cool for school" performance by INXS's Michael Hutchence, in the lead role of Sam, eschewing the streamlined pop of his real band for the niche post-punk of the ultra-niche "Little band music scene" which flourished in Melbourne in the early 80s. How Little, you ask? You gotta go deeper than the ocean for any of the acts to register...

In my hellworld version of Rotten Tomatoes, the collective synopsis would read: "A scatterbrained tale about how being young is fucked up and stupid and also about how sometimes you're gf overdoses and you become an international pop star." But it's opening title graphics are an undeniable A+ ...


Somewhere lost in the malaise of the characters is some interesting commentary on just that: the politically minded youth not being able to make any progress because their peers' apathy is too strong. The performances, including that of Hutchence–who is mostly there to look cool and sexy and not necessarily read many lines of dialogue–registers as blah if not downright poor, instead of, well, good actors acting that way. But, it certainly isn't purposely aimless, like the style of so many indie movies coming right around the corner. For that, it deserves some credit.

Bonus points for repeated references to the suicide banger "Frankie Teardrop" and, also, you can never totally hate on a movie where a female character fires a cap at a cop and tells him to suck her dick...

(Ed. Note: While I lumped this podcast review together with 2020's Eurovision Song Contest, I seriously never once made the connection that both films were music-related until after the fact. I recorded the entire ep without that in mind even though it's some goddam pure synergy, folks. And this is, in a nutshell, my plight. When I'm right, I can't realize it, and when I'm wrong it feels like I'm wrong all the time.)

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 273 - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 274B ⫸

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