Savages

People, when I praise goofy action films, it's not because I get my kicks making fun of them. Some of my biggest writing influences are comic books for crying out loud. Hell, I own the Super Mario Brothers Super Show on DVD. And also, I really do love pulp novels and grindhouse movies. I wrote an eighteen-page paper on the latter topic, and watched over fifteen grindhouse movies as research. The thing is, most neo-grindhouse is silly, and I hate it when it wants to be taken seriously. Then there's Savages, which could've been made in 1975, but is pretty awesome in 2012. Laguna Beach bros Ben the nice guy (Aaron Johnson) and Chon the tough guy (Taylor Kitsch) are sitting pretty. They run the most popular and safe pot business on the west coast, have their own personal DEA rat (John Travolta), and live in a menage-a-trois with O (Blake Lively). But times change, and Ben and Chon are threatened with takeover by the ruthless Baja Cartel and its sultry leader Elena (Salma Hayek). When the boys refuse the deal, Elena sends her mulletted enforcer Lado (Benicio Del Toro) to kidnap O. Now Ben and Chon have to get her back, no matter the cost. To say the very least, I don't like Oliver Stone. Platoon is a classic and Wall Street is fine, but JFK, Born on the Fourth of July, W., and Natural Born Killers are films I just can't stand. I'm also not the biggest Aaron Johnson fan after Kick-Ass, and Blake Lively is kinda boring to me. So you can imagine my surprise when I ended up enjoying Savages quite a bit. It's a damn silly movie, but man is it a blast to watch. The plot is ridiculous, the dialogue is beyond dumb, and the acting, particularly by Del Toro and Travolta, is hilarious. But it's handled in such a way that it all works. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. One major benefit the pulpiness of Savages gives is the general simplicity of the film. The story and the characters are very clearly laid out for the audience, and nothing ever tries to reach too high. Sure there's slick editing and a blaring "HELL YEAH BRO" soundtrack, but at its core, Savages is a straightforward, old-style grindhouse flick. If it was mad ein the 70'd we'd see "The Savages" starring Rutger Hauer and David Hess as Ben and Chon, Lynnea Quigley as O, Dyanne Thorne as Elena, with Bob Kerman as DEA guy and Franco Nero as Lado. All directed by Abel Ferarra. And I love the fact that I can make that kind of comparison, and I kinda loved Savages. Before I sit down to write a review, I jot down notes in my film notebook, and read reviews of the movie by my favorite critics. And the thing I noticed in every positive Savages review was the critic trying to make the film seem intelligent and highbrow for the sake of Oliver Stone. But Savages isn't a web of intrigue, or a fresh take on thrillers, and it doesn't have suspense taught as rope. Savages is a high energy, pulpy crime flick that isn't very smart or at all deep. And I wouldn't want it any other way.