1/6/09: 2008's RightWingTrashiest Films

We’re always slow to get started in a new year. Let’s lazily kill this first week with two lists recapping 2008—starting with our favorite films of last year. Most of them have actual political content. Most of them are also trash. There are a few exceptions, though, which is why this list isn’t presented in any particular order. We want to start with a slightly rambling write-up of a fine film that’s way too classy for this site…

Wendy and Lucy
The most Leftist film of 2008 is the travesty of Marley & Me, in which oblivious people rationalize the destruction of their lives by an evil dog that they just can’t bother to train. The modest art house endeavor of Wendy and Lucy is a righteous response to that box-office hit. If you’re a conservative in New York City, though, you might have skipped the movie thanks to a New York Times interview with the film's director. If you’re outside of New York or L.A., it’s not too late to see Wendy and Lucy as it rolls out in this new year.

Wendy and Lucy is a perfect example of real-life events intruding on a Leftist director’s fantasy. Kelly Reichardt didn’t mean to direct (and co-write) a tribute to Alaska as a land of opportunity for strong women. At least, she didn’t mean to get stuck with that subtext after Sarah Palin debuted on the national stage. The joke’s on Reichardt, since Wendy and Lucy is the story of a homeless gal who improves her life (and her dog’s) while avoiding the temptations of being a useless bum. We want to avoid any spoilers, but it must’ve really killed Reichardt to realize who’d have to become the film’s hero for her lead character to remain sympathetic. You still have to give the director credit for making a movie that salutes both common sense and capitalism. We look forward to the DVD commentary where she ties herself in knots.

Repo! The Genetic Opera
Our true favorite film of 2008 is a rock opera laced with elements of punk, hip-hop, and Goth galore—and yet feels like a production straight out of 1973. This is probably what the Jim Steinman/Meat Loaf collaboration would’ve created if everything had worked out for the duo back in the ’70s. You’ve also got Oscar-worthy turns by Anthony Stewart Head and Paul Sorvino, who take overblown villains and turn them into proper tragic characters. The plot should also inspire plenty of libertarian debate on the free market as it applies to deadbeats who don’t keep up the payments on their new kidneys, lungs, and hearts.

Gran Torino
This one would’ve been a grindhouse classic if it had been directed by William Lustig and starred Robert Forster. It might’ve had the same ending, too—which we won’t give away, but Clint Eastwood ends his acting career with a true understanding of the only kind of role left to his archetype of a good American.

Rambo/Cloverfield
We’ve had our problems with the character in the past, but Sylvester Stallone made a true grindhouse classic with the gut-gouging greatness of Rambo. This entry addressed the great fun of Rambo and Cloverfield as a proper double-feature at the start of the year. And we’ll politely assume that their January release dates were the reason that both films were forgotten when critics compiled their year-end lists.

Punisher: War Zone
This is the grindhouse greatness that book-ended 2008, as just recently written up here.

Frost/Nixon
There was another token classy film that kind of piled up at the end of 2008, and was reviewed here—although that link seems kind of indulgent. You could just scroll down this page.

Return to Sleepaway Camp
This amazing film was shot back around 2005, or at least long ago that Isaac Hayes didn’t remember making the film when we interviewed him. For the uninitiated, 1983’s Sleepaway Camp was the greatest slasher film of that decade, and perhaps of all time. Ignoring some lame sequels made without him, director Robert Hiltzik took a few original cast members back to the scene of the crime—and actually made a sequel as good as the original. He also captured the world-gone-mad sleaziness that made the original such a perfect product of the Reagan Years. Both films lure you into a creepy adolescent setting where the sole voice of morality has to be stunted and deranged. Sadly, we’re pretty sure that Return to Sleepaway Camp ended up making its belated debut as direct-to-video product. We’ll never forget watching the original in a theater, though.

Iron Man
We wrote it up, but then felt bad that we didn’t note how Iron Man must be the most Ayn Rand-influenced film to come along since the lady herself was writing screenplays. We thought about elaborating on that here, but first tried entering “Iron Man Ayn Rand” into a search engine. The resulting screen should’ve just said, “Take a number, deep thinker.”

Wall-E
A wonderful film, but also notable as the fantasy that prompted plenty of bitching conservatives to look like idiots. This sweet tale of a robot’s romance wasn’t an attack on capitalism. It was a celebration of humanity, with an ending that completely contradicts all the most voguish aspects of current Leftist philosophy. Sometimes we’re proud to be a lonely lil’ site amongst the galaxy of our moronic political contemporaries. We’ll still probably put an end to RightWingTrash at the start of July, though.

Make it your own: As usual, we’re more interested in linking to our past musings than to how you can buy all this stuff. Of course, some of these films are still in theaters, and you’re not going to have a hard time finding an Iron Man DVD. We’ll just note that Repo! The Genetic Opera comes out on DVD on January 20th—and there are still a few chances to enjoy the movie in theaters this month, as you’ll find at the film’s official site. Happy New Year, folks!

 

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