Anyways, I found this to be a delight! For two reasons, broadly speaking...
1. The early 90s + made-for-TV aesthetic and tone. From denim dress shirts...
...to sexual harassment in the workplace...
...does it get any better than this?
2. Jonathan Silverman is charming af. I truly believe there is an alternative universe where he's a Tom Hanks tier leading man, especially in the more comedic realm. (His filmography, buoyed by Weekend at Bernie's, of course, is mostly a big ? as is his accompanying photo at Wikipedia—no respect!
Check out this A+ acting against a robot alarm clock who won't stop calling him, "lazy boy" ...
... and here he is going into the middle of a restricted area to flirt...
:()
This movie plays like a comedy for sure. The sci-fi elements are too prevalent to push it outside of that genre full stop but it brings the jokes whether they land or not. Pro-tip: it's funnier when they're not...
Do not think too deeply about the technical mechanics or metrics behind the science of this plot. Who cares. This came across my radar when I was looking at the history of time-loop films for my Palm Springs review. Groundhog Day probably bad the best idea by removing any science entirely. But none of these are aspiring to be Primer. That stuff isn't the point. (Ed. Note: As mentioned, I explore the history of the time-loop subgenre more deeply in said Palm Springs review.) The added consequence of trying to prevent the murder of a co-worker he has a crush on, however, is the game-changing twist which elevates 12:01. It plays this life or death element as light-heartedly as possible but it's still life or death, and it gives Silverman's character some real agency within the trope. Furthermore, despite my seemingly ironic appreciation for the film, I actually think its screenplay is pretty great and grounded. Granted the very nature of the time-loop film highlights the concept of our actions having consequences, but there were several subtle moments where this note is accentuated.
Nancy Slater in the romantic interest/murder victim role gives a totally stilted performance which screams "why did I agree to do this?" It's only rivaled by the great Martin Landau who delivers one of cinematic history's most bored-looking acting jobs, broadcasting loud and clear, "am I really doing this right now?" You (common person / non film buff) might see these as obvious problems, detrimental to one's enjoyment of the picture. But they are, in fact, the opposite. They enhance it. For example, this is the only movie ever made where you'll get to see what a fight scene between Martin Landau and Jonathan Silverman looks like (and it looks amazing)...
Oh, also Jeremy Piven has a fairly substantial role and he's very Pivenesque, if not Proto-Piven...
I wanna get a tatto that reads: "pimp daddy that was great how'd you do that man shake it baby shake it"
Ultimately, this movie just made me feel good and warm. It's not some masterwork of filmmaking, but a seriously dumb 90 minutes you can shut your brain off to, get lost in Jonathan Silverman's dreamy wardrobe choices and relax. Here's the last ninety seconds of the movie uncut because they're tremendous and also/obviously MAJOR SPOILERS + TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT FOREVER ahead...
✌️☮️🕊☮︎✌️
Still here, huh? Oh OK. Well since I've got your attention, enjoy these SEVEN other clips from 12:01 that didn't neatly fit into the body of my review :)
Here we see a short phone call between Jonathan Silverman and his mother in which he has to explain that the girl he liked was shot dead by bullets, in fact, and not "shot" as in "with a camera"...
And now I present to you a scene with loudly croaking frogs which includes the famous "Pet Canary Gravestone" story and some hilarious exposition / plot wreckoning (this one's kinda long)...
Here is the classic "hide under the bad guys' car move and just be really still when they pull away" move...
Speaking of classic moves, here is the classic "Danny Trejo plays a scary prisoner" move (right before the 2nd 'time bounce')...
Speaking of prison, this subsequent prison scene features maybe my favorite Silverman line delivery of the movie. This is truly LoL comedy, folks...
SPECIAL FX? SPECIAL FX...
And last but not least, this bit about naming the Top 5 smells (lol) and then listing off seven (7) smells...
OK, one more bonus GIF - here's a live look of me watching the Presidential Debate! ...
FOOTNOTES: 1. S/o to whoever uploaded this on the day after Valentine's Day 2020. This description is pretty funny...
[BACK]
CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 298A - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 299A ⫸
⫷ EPISODE 298A - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 299A ⫸
0 comments:
Post a Comment