SpoutBlog on spout.com

Under discussion:

Arrested Development [TV Series]  (2003)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army  (2008)

Hancock  (2008)

It’s been almost two weeks and Hancock has grossed almost $350 million, so it’s time to start the academic discussions — with spoilers, of course (anyone who wants to avoid knowing the “twists” should discontinue reading now). Maybe it’s just the film scholar in me, but I have been desiring a good analysis of the film’s allegorical meaning since viewing the less-than-perfect superhero movie last week. While others may feel that the movie is hardly worth reading into (especially over-reading, as I’ve always felt my M.O. to be) or that it’s too obvious that the first half is really about the role of the U.S. as a superpower, I’m nevertheless eager to figure it out.

Basically, I’ve been wracking my brain trying to understand where the allegory goes, or was meant to go, once Charlize Theron’s character is introduced as Hancock’s super-powered wife. Does she somehow fit in with or in response to Hancock’s representation of America (the patriotic name, the eagle emblem on his uniform, etc.)? I’m still at a loss, but I’ve come up with 5 possibilities (some a lot less likely than others) for what screenwriters Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan intended for her character to be.

1. The United Kingdom - So sue me if part of my reasoning is inspired by Theron’s role on Arrested Development, in which she also seemed to be harboring a secret from beau Jason Bateman (if only Hancock had stolen Jeffrey Tambor from Hellboy II, it could have been considered a reunion), but if Hancock represents America, then Mary (Theron) is some other superpower, right? I don’t recall any hints that she signifies the Soviet Union, so she must be a stand-in for the British. Is her desire to be a housewife representative of a desire by the British to no longer be a world-stomping empire? Is Mary’s defending of the French boy a nod to Britain-France relations in contrast to U.S.-France? But then is the movie also saying that the UK and the U.S. are less powerful when united together? History would say otherwise.
   
2. Hillary Clinton - In at least two separate reviews, I’ve seen Will Smith/Hancock compared to Barack Obama. So, I guess that would mean Charlize Theron/Mary is Hillary Clinton, though of course the domesticated preferences don’t fit. Still, despite the fact that Hancock was mostly filmed before the heat of the Democratic race, I can see where the Hancock vs. Mary battle, after which both characters are weaker, could be a parallel for the Clinton-Obama fight for the nomination, which seemed to be harming the Democratic party overall. And I guess we should also assume that if Hillary is somehow chosen as Barack’s running mate, the team-up will be disastrous for them both.
3. Womanhood - Like her African American counterpart, Mary represents the struggles of her kind throughout the world, throughout history. And whenever they were united, says their back story, they faced harsher discriminations. Of course, it’s a stretch that Mary is an allegorical representation of women’s rights, especially considering Hancock could barely be analyzed as representing civil rights. But there’s something there regarding the strengths of both race and femininity in time of political correctness, affirmative action, etc. And it also ties into the Clinton/Obama allegory since both candidates were so defined, respectively, by gender and race.
4. White Womanhood - Margeaux Watson at Entertainment Weekly might not agree with the generality of #3, so just for her, here’s the specific. Because in the current issue of EW, Watson complains about the casting of Theron as yet another white love interest for a black leading man. Perhaps Watson would be okay with a Nia Long or Gabrielle Union being cast in the (hopefully) inevitable sequel, in which a black woman superhero/god/angel is discovered, and Hancock dates her until he discovers she’s the villain (which is what I had presumed Theron to be when going into Hancock).
5. The Virgin Mary - Don’t you know that anytime a character is named Mary in a movie that she represents the mother of Jesus? Could a sequel reveal that Mary and Hancock have a child out there, one who is more superhuman than superhuman? Perhaps played by Keanu Reeves? I guess since the superduo are said to be 3,000 years old that they were around for at least a millennium before Mary, but Hollywood magic could always suggest that Mary was in fact around for a long time prior to her immaculate conception.

Under discussion:

Choke  (2008)

I knew the whole red-band fad would come to this: Fox Searchlight is promoting the latest trailer for its Sundance-pickup Choke as “the raunchiest red-band trailer EVER.” Well, I don’t know if I agree with the statement — maybe if Fox hadn’t censored the sex scenes with “Big Screen Only” banners — but something about this latest spot makes me more interested in the film. Could it be the nudity? Or the swearing? Or maybe it’s simply the greater exposure to the coarseness we’ve come to expect from Sam Rockwell. And here he appears more depraved than usual.

On the film’s adults-only website (also available to kids who know how to pick the age-restriction locks), there are also four new promotional videos featuring strippers reading passages from Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, on which the movie is based. They’re pretty funny if you’re still into the dumb stripper stereotype (I prefer the smart MENSA strippers/porn stars like Asia Carrera, of course). Also on the site, you can kinda learn how to do the Heimlich Maneuver.

Choke won a Special Jury Prize for its ensemble cast (including my current celebrity crush, Kelly Macdonald) at Sundance this past January. It opens in theaters nationwide September 26.

Under discussion:

Babe: Pig in the City  (1998)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army  (2008)

• Variety says Hellboy 2 “did hellacious business in debuting to an estimated $35.9 million.” This seems to be a compliment. Meanwhile, Meet Dave bombed, and Journey to the Center of the Earth made a very respectable $20 mil on just 854 3D screens.
• Richard Linklater, Mike White and Jack Black will collaborate on a sequel to School of Rock, and it’s got what’s destined to rival Babe 2: Pig in the City for mockable sequel titles: School of Rock 2: America Rocks. Where’s the exclamation point?
  
• Terribly Happy, a Danish crime film, took the top prize at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival over the weekend. Man on Wire took the documentary prize, and there was also a “special mention” for Bigger, Stronger, Faster.