War, Inc
Hilarious, manic, pop-culture-obsessed parody of the US occupation in Iraq. John Cusack stars, executive produces, and has a writing credit for the screenplay. Also credited: Jeremy Pikser who is active in the Writer's Guild, and my mother's ex-boyfriend, whose name I won't mention since Google has my number. ^^; But he's a novelist with a cult following and listed first in the credits, if you're interested.


The best way to describe this movie is to say that it's like Hot Fuzz in that the plot and characterization are often totally absurd and only work because they've been lifted from another movie where they would have actually made sense. XD But not in a this-scene-is-a-parody-aren't-we-clever way: in a way that says, "Hey, if we copy this scene from Rebel Without a Cause, we can totally establish that these three characters are developing a family dynamic! The 10% of our audience who get it will love it and the other 90% will probably still be entertained even if they don't know where it's coming from."

So this is a movie that will appeal to people who like movies. It's also a movie that will appeal to fans of Naomi Klein's article "Bagdad: Year Zero," since this is the article that inspired Cusack to move ahead with the project. (Which sort-of existed -- the idea anyway -- as early as 2002; War, Inc would have been a much better movie if it had actually come out in 2004 or 2005, but it is still a pretty good movie now.)

Basically the premise is that "In the 21st century, the United States waged the first war in world history to be completely outsourced to private corporations". Cusack's cover story in Turaqistan is that he is an employee of "Tamerlaine, Inc" (like Halliburton and Blackwater rolled into one but with better PR) who's been hired to run a floor show the company is putting on for the benefit of the foreign press. (Actually, he is a hitman, there to assassinate Tamerlaine's competition.) The clean, sleek, branded interior of the company's field HQ (and of the Popeye's Chicken down the street -- ha ha ha, Popeye's, going where no other fast food chain dares to tread!) contrasts sharply with the smoking ruins of Fallel, the next closest city, and for that matter with the rest of the country. Hilariously, journalist-guests to Tamerlaine HQ are treated to the full "interactive" war experience -- a Disney-style themepark ride where the seats shake and you wear VR goggles and there are explosions on a big projection screen. ^^;

The whole movie is filled with gags like that -- the most obvious one being Hillary Duff's character, essentially an East European Brittany Spears. ^^; Out of respect for my mother, I am going to avoid speculating too much about what Cusack's relationship with "Yonika Babyyeah" implies about the screenwriter, even though he makes it really easy. (Basically all of this guy's novels feature arrogant/insecure protagonists with exotic neuroses -- for instance, "Brand Hauser" downs Tobasco sauce when he's nervous -- several of whom are are named after the author. Some of them also have superpowers or are secret agents. They tend to develop sexual fixations on dominating women who criticize them. Sez my mother: "He hasn't changed.") But I will say (spoiler) that the moral here seems to be, Don't sleep with the provocatively-dressed female pop star who is the same age as your long-lost teenage daughter, no matter how much she tempts you, because she may turn out to actually be your daughter.

Humor is mainly sight gags or one-liners that go whizzing by so fast, you will almost certainly miss most of them. XD Probably my favorite joke was Brand Spenser's confessional relationship with the guy on the other end of his OnStar system. Funny and a useful plot device! I also enjoyed the US soldier who snacks on instant coffee and the digs at Vice President Cheney, Our Glorious Leader, and Anderson Cooper. An example of more typical movie humor: three Turaqis who make hostage snuff films bicker about the right angle to shoot from for ~maximum artistic effect~. Their demands? 1) Complete withdrawal of all US forces from Turaqistan, effective immediately; 2) The dissolution of the state of Israel; 3) transfer to the Turaqi national basketball team of LaBron James or another player to be named at a later date.

Also the Turaqis themselves come across pretty damn excellently in this movie. Turaqistan in general is presented as a modern country full of people who have agency and live in the 20th century. Along with their sheep and goats and East European pop stars etc. The shooting is gorgeous and was accomplished mainly in Bulgaria under the supervision of a Bulgarian cinematography director. My father felt compelled to point out that there were also many Macedonian names in the credits, and that Brand Hauser has a Macedonian flag on display in his office (one of many, including a Tamerlaine flag).

In short, if you are into pop culture and have a short attention span (so basically that's all of us), you might want to check out this movie. If you can -- War, Inc has had a ridiculously limited release. I actually kind of want to see it again before the Angelika theater stops playing it next Thursday. Anyone in NYC want to see it with me on Wednesday the 16th? apintrix? fiendery? falxumbra? I also want to see The Wackness and The Counterfitters, playing at the same theater, if "Iraq war parody with Brittany Spears subplot" doesn't sound like your cup of tea. There's this great restaurant and bar we found a few blocks away, come on, it'll be fun.