CALIGULA!

So after my roommate proclaimed that he is interested in making movie shorts for movies that don't exist I had to show him this work by Francesco Vezzoli. Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula is a short film in the form of a fake movie trailer that spoofs the original Caligula (the all but doomed and terribly curated) 2006 Whit. It features an all-star cast (including the "ravishing" Helen Mirren, Benicio Del Toro, Karen Black), and promises to be even more decadent and depraved than the original film. This film made a huge splash when it premiered at the Venice Biennial, and managed to make its way to America via the (doomed and terribly curated) 2006 Whitney Biennial. It was a hit with audiences, though some admitting were dumbfounded: "will there really be a new movie? is there something I am missing?" But for those who kept up, Vezzoli's work is a provocative (very provocative) demonstration of art's continuing ability to remain witty and self-assured.

Despite all the glamour and big budget style of the (toga costumes by Versace) trailer there is a witty, yet pointed political message. In the opening scene Gore Vidal, sitting in a director's declares: "Every point in human history has been dark." Only to be followed by Mirren's proclamation that "We stole for ourselves the wealth of the world," as she guides two slave boys dressed in mesh gold tunics (revealing their genitalia). The commentary is telling of its time and Vidal (who wrote the script for the trailer) is one of the Bush's administration's most vocal critics (who is staple of many political television and radio shows). Yet all of this commentary is hidden well through a thick layer of wit and sex - and more sex than anything. There are a plethora of sex scenes and - like a good trailer - only offers a small glimpse of the wild orgies of homo-and-heterosexual sex scenes. A favorite: after Karen Black says to another character "I hear you have a taste for young boys," the scene quickly changes to an orgy of no less than a dozen naked oily men engaging in the pleasures of a bacchanal - one that Caligula himself would have been proud of. The backdrop could not be any more suitable: a badly decorated California-type mansion filled with replicas of Roman statues. I guarantee that you will come back to watch this again and again, just to make sure you caught every scene - and not because I am perverted, because it is just too good to miss.

I also enjoy Milla Jovovich's performance. Despite how attractive she is, she is just a terrible (TERRIBLE) actress. And in the trailer she is at her worse, but I am not sure if this is intentionally. When I first saw this at the Biennial I was laughing hysterically because her inability to act was just a riot. Unfortunately, after watching this too many times, I am still not sure if she is intending to come off as a bad actress or not - I mean, is she a good enough actress to parody herself? I guess it will require even closer viewing next time. Though the best part of the whole film is the surprise ending. The short offers a surprise ending. After Mr. Vidal tells viewers that the "film" will be "coming soon to a theater near you," the credits roll and the screen goes dark. Just when you think it is over, a surprisingly sober Courtney Love suddenly appears as the fake film's actual Caligula to deliver a brief soliloquy. This is a role of lifetime for Love, she is at her best her (and I am not being sarcastic) as she declares before the camera: "How lonely it is to be a god."




And the Original trailer for the 1979 version, with the warning: "For mature audiences only."