Fearless Matthew McConaughey plays a drunk-stoner-poet almost too well in this disjointed, ultimately disappointing comedy. We saw this film followed by what could have been an informative Q & A with Writer/Director Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers). The director was entertaining, but hardly informative listening to questions but not answering any of them. The film provides some good laughs and so did he. Korine is a fearless personality who also beats to his own drum, like McConaughey.
Korine casts McConaughey as the iconic Moondog. He’s a rich, white guy who happily rotates his high from lots of alcohol to even more weed in a never ending quest to keep laughing and retreating from reality. Is Korine asking the audience to do what the rest of society does for rich, white people? Let them get away with everything? If that was going through his mind as he wrote the script it would have made for a better film to explore the topic instead of just letting him slide. There are funny moments that ultimately don’t add up to much.
Korine does a fine job creating the absurd side of this character. When he tries to bring some humanity into the mix, however, neither he nor McConaughey can find the words or the emotion to make this free spirit more than a caricature. The music helps. John Debney has put together a soundtrack including songs from Jimmy Buffett, Waylon Jennings, Gordon Lightfoot, Van Morrison and songs about Moondog and Minnie by Debney himself.
Korine told us he placed the film in his favorite locale, Florida, in particular, in the Keys. Moondog sometimes lives there with his beautiful, loving, über-rich wife, Minnie (Isla Fisher) in a fabulous mansion. Even he says “How come I didn’t know we were this rich!”
Fisher is the most likable character in the film and she’s convincing as the love of Moondog’s life. He fills his days with random sex-partners in between lighting up another joint. As it turns out, Minnie has her side-lover in Moondog’s good buddy Lingerie, or Rei, played by Snoop Dogg. Snoop doesn’t have to do much acting. He’s obviously having such a good time just being in this film, he can’t stop smiling even when he’s not supposed to! Korine gives us one shot of Moondog showing somewhat real emotion when he catches Minnie in the arms of Rei. But he seems to get over it pretty quickly.
We almost didn’t recognize Jonah Hill in this film. He’s lost a lot of weight again and is dressed as unlikely as you’d ever see him. He shows up as the literary agent trying to get another payday by pushing Moondog to finish a book he’s not been working on for ever. Hill’s over-the-top Southern drawl is hard to understand at first and becomes more annoying than funny.
Moondog can’t even put down the booze to show up on time for his daughter’s wedding to a guy he nicknames Limpdick (Joshua Ritter).
The never-ending reception leads to more partying which eventually catches up with Moondog in a tragic way that ought to have been sobering. It takes an intervention from daughter Heather (Stefania LaVie Owen) to get him sent to rehab. Owen is way too patient with her dad. Forgiveness seems to be in both she and her Mom’s DNA.
It really gets sordid when Moondog meets up with Flicker (Zach Efron) in rehab. They decide sobriety is for losers and get totally crazy. The scenes with Efron are the most disturbing in the film. To say they’re both self-indulgent is an understatement and it’s hard to like either one of them.
Where Moondog is a happy drunk, Flicker is disgustingly evil. Their cruelty knows no bounds. Moondog has lost his moral compass. Korine chooses to just let Moondog just keep going, with no accountability for anything he does no matter who he hurts.
Martin Lawrence provides the saving grace to this film. His scenes as Captain Wack are the sickest but funniest. It’s back to the ocean for the best piece of comedy. Captain Wack loves dolphins and leads tours on his rickety boat to go swimming with the beautiful creatures. But Captain Wack can’t tell the difference between a dolphin and a shark which causes a harrowing encounter. Korine baits Lawrence for the funniest scenes.
After all the vacant stares, inebriated laughter, outrageous costumes and multiple shots of McConaughey in a thong, there just isn’t much to take away from this tale. It’s what you’d expect and Korine fans will still love it. After all the uninhibited performances and the great soundtrack, Korine goes for a predictable ending. This Beach Bum falls face first in the sand.
Neon 95 minutes R
