Fantasia 2012 Review: WRONG

Quentin Dupieux's genre deconstruction effort, Rubber, from a couple years ago, left some folks scratching their head, and others critical of its 'extended comedy sketch' nature; likley then, Wrong is probably not the right film for them.  With a bigger thematic reach, and a far more episodic structure, Wrong is likely as close as we will ever get to stand-up comedy in cinematic language.  It is an absurdist masterwork, and this is only Mr. Oizo's second feature film.  The film picks at the very fabric of the myriad network of tiny social contracts that make up the average person's day:  Talking to the neighbor, ordering a pizza, petty politics in the office, having a polite phone call with a friend, and the like.  But of course, these are presented and dealt with by all the major and minor characters in a manner that is, well, wrong.  As in any  good comedy or a good storytelling, what happens with expectations are violated and how do we feel about that violation?   Playing like the longest and best Kids in the Hall sketch ever made, even the lead actor Jack Plotnick bears a resemblance to Kevin McDonald (and can do wonderful emoting with his eyebrows and hangdog face.)  Visually, the movie has a real penchant for filmmaking gags.  Much of the shocking (but not necessarily abrupt) punch-lines are executed by revealing things just outside the frame, or even within the frame via rack-focus, with the precision of a master comedian.  Often there is a complex series of reveals and pauses and doubletakes (which belies the overtly minimalist deadpan tone of the film) having the effect of keeping even a quick witted audience on their toes.  The opening sequence is in a strange way his riff on the great opening sequence of Once Upon a Time in The West.  Ok, maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but, like Rubber, there is as much (or more) comedy in the craft of construction as there is in the performances or dialogue.