SXSW 2010: SUCK Review
[With Rob Stefaniuk's Suck screening at SXSW now seems a good time to revisit my review from the film's world premiere in Toronto.]
Joey has a problem. His band, The Winners, is on the verge of making it big. This should be a good thing, really. After years of scratching out a meager existence in the bars, years of gigs that don't pay and nobody comes to, years of measuring the hits on their website in single digits, things are finally looking up. Fans are buzzing. Fans are coming out to their shows. Their tour is scheduled to end with a big industry showcase. Life should be great! But it's not because their new-found popularity rides on the magnetic power of Joey's ex-girlfriend and current bassist - magnetic power that arrived the day she was turned into a vampire.
With a fantastic premise, high end production values and a cast that includes appearances from the likes of Moby, Alice Cooper, Carol Pope, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop plus original music composed by writer-director-star Rob Stefaniuk with help from much loved veterans of Montreal's indie rock scene, Suck has all the ingredients for an instant cult hit. It doesn't quite get there, but it's not for lack of trying.
Playing vampirism as an allegory for addiction - most specifically heroin - we follow the band as first Jennifer (Jessica Pare) and then the rest of the members succumb to its call. When freshly fed they are powerful, magnetic, alluring. Fans love them and it's not hard to see the appeal. But the next morning? Oh, that's a different story, one filled with nausea, headaches and the gnawing need for more. A hunger that must be fed.
Fusing slick musical numbers with bursts of stop motion and high end special effects provided by Stefaniuk's brother - who just happens to be one of the top effects men in the nation - Suck is great fun to look at though, true to the core metaphor, the vampirism is of interest more for the withdrawal than for the feeding which translates to less on-screen blood than you may expect. Though the frequent musical guests vary wildly in terms of acting ability - Iggy Pop is the best, Lifeson the weakest - all of them are employed well and fans will have great fun picking them out, particularly the brilliantly cast Moby - a strict vegan in real life - as the leader of a Buffalo area punk band whose fans pelt them with raw meat at every show.
With all of these elements going right, what prevents the film from hitting the heights you may expect. Well, for lack of a better term - and remember this is coming from a local, born and bred - it feels as though Suck is a bit too Canadian for it's own good. This is not meant as a knock on the production values but on the temperment of the film, the whole thing played just a little too casual and easy going for its own good. Things never quite pop when they should, the intended tone is never quite clear enough, Stefaniuk never quite steps up and takes firm control of things either as director or star. And as a result many key moments - both shocking and comedic - lack the kind of impact they should have. Though the film will still certainly find an audience - the sheer star power alone is enough to guarantee that - and is certainly not without its charms it is hard not to compare it to the film that it could have been.
Joey has a problem. His band, The Winners, is on the verge of making it big. This should be a good thing, really. After years of scratching out a meager existence in the bars, years of gigs that don't pay and nobody comes to, years of measuring the hits on their website in single digits, things are finally looking up. Fans are buzzing. Fans are coming out to their shows. Their tour is scheduled to end with a big industry showcase. Life should be great! But it's not because their new-found popularity rides on the magnetic power of Joey's ex-girlfriend and current bassist - magnetic power that arrived the day she was turned into a vampire.
With a fantastic premise, high end production values and a cast that includes appearances from the likes of Moby, Alice Cooper, Carol Pope, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop plus original music composed by writer-director-star Rob Stefaniuk with help from much loved veterans of Montreal's indie rock scene, Suck has all the ingredients for an instant cult hit. It doesn't quite get there, but it's not for lack of trying.
Playing vampirism as an allegory for addiction - most specifically heroin - we follow the band as first Jennifer (Jessica Pare) and then the rest of the members succumb to its call. When freshly fed they are powerful, magnetic, alluring. Fans love them and it's not hard to see the appeal. But the next morning? Oh, that's a different story, one filled with nausea, headaches and the gnawing need for more. A hunger that must be fed.
Fusing slick musical numbers with bursts of stop motion and high end special effects provided by Stefaniuk's brother - who just happens to be one of the top effects men in the nation - Suck is great fun to look at though, true to the core metaphor, the vampirism is of interest more for the withdrawal than for the feeding which translates to less on-screen blood than you may expect. Though the frequent musical guests vary wildly in terms of acting ability - Iggy Pop is the best, Lifeson the weakest - all of them are employed well and fans will have great fun picking them out, particularly the brilliantly cast Moby - a strict vegan in real life - as the leader of a Buffalo area punk band whose fans pelt them with raw meat at every show.
With all of these elements going right, what prevents the film from hitting the heights you may expect. Well, for lack of a better term - and remember this is coming from a local, born and bred - it feels as though Suck is a bit too Canadian for it's own good. This is not meant as a knock on the production values but on the temperment of the film, the whole thing played just a little too casual and easy going for its own good. Things never quite pop when they should, the intended tone is never quite clear enough, Stefaniuk never quite steps up and takes firm control of things either as director or star. And as a result many key moments - both shocking and comedic - lack the kind of impact they should have. Though the film will still certainly find an audience - the sheer star power alone is enough to guarantee that - and is certainly not without its charms it is hard not to compare it to the film that it could have been.
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