The
Strange Case of Senor Computer (1999)
"The
Strange Case of Senor Computer" is neither "strange"
nor a "case" nor about a "computer." Discuss.
Imagine if George Romero's brother-in-law directed a
rip-off of "Pi" after watching "The Twonky" on acid
47 times. Oh yeah, then he hires Stephen Hawkings to
narrate it. That gives you the basic idea of this film.
Shot in black and white, and often featuring (black
and white) trippy cyber graphics kinda images, the film
harkens to those wonderful films of yesteryear... literally,
last year... like "Pi" and "Blair Witch" and numerous
other indie wannabees that somehow make a glorious and
intriguing film on almost no budget. Filmmaker Tom Sawyer
(whose parent must come from Hannibal, Missouri) tries
to tag along onto this current indie image and succeeds
only marginally. His film isn't all that bad. But it's
rather pointless and, well, lifeless.
The
film begins with a set-up that features three of the
worst actors imaginable playing policemen. These guys
cannot even "pretend" to be asshole cops. One of the
cops, the one whose acting is minutely better than the
other two, stays on in the film to act as our tourguide
into the supposed "strange case."
The plot involves a "really deep but nerdy" scientist
(Rick Ziegler) who builds a android. Well, not really
an android as much as an overhead projector on a rolling
cart. We can tell the scientist will end up getting
with a girl cause he's one of those cute guys who directors
think can pass as nerdy if he just doesn't comb his
bangs back and wears glasses. We are not disappointed
in this expectation. But, at least, the three main female
characters in the film add some spice. And their acting
is much better than their male counterparts. As Carlotta,
Gladys Hans is asked to interact with the android and,
like Spielberg's legendary "Jaws" shark, the special
effect has a lot of problems. Hans is unable to make
this look any better but at least she tries. Lisa Goodman
and Constance Tillotson are required to interject sex
into the occasion (albeit only verbally) but they seem
very comfortable in their roles, add some humor to the
mix, and make the later saggy bits in the film more
bouncy... no puns really intended there... but what
the hell...
Sawyer
tries to be inventive and creative and cool and hip
and trippy with the visuals and generally succeeds.
Unfortunately, that's all he's got here. There's no
story, no interesting characters, no tension, no intrigue.
Nothing. So, we are given plenty of time to ponder Sawyers
graphics, to try and decide why he did so much of the
trippy stuff in black and white (a new concept, in a
way, at least), and to pick apart Marco Capetta's no-budget
cinematography, which is cool, without a doubt.
So, is "Senor Computer" worth seeing? I'd have to say
yes. Of course, there are probably a hundred other better
options. I'd recommend "Pi" or "A Brief History of Time"
or even "Twonky" over this film. Will it get distributed
or be an indie hit. That's a pretty assured no. Might
make a good teacher's aid at indie film school though.
Notes: Filmed in 1997.
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