Crispin Glover's newest is fine, but an acquired taste
Disabled film characters usually appear as sweetly patient saints. Even if they burden their caregivers, their sunny dispositions shame everyone into humility. At the very least, they're there to remind us that we're all the same inside.
Then there's Paul Baker.
The protagonist of "It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE," has severe cerebral palsy. When we meet Paul, he's fallen out of his wheelchair in a care facility, helpless to pull himself back into a sitting position. He also has a fetish for long-haired women, unparalleled powers to talk them into the sack and a compulsion to strangle them.
"Fine" is the second film of a trilogy planned by Crispin Hellion Glover, the actor known as Michael J. Fox's teenage dad in the first "Back to the Future" film and the star of the "Willard" remake. "What Is It?," Glover's 2005 directorial debut, bombarded its audience with queasily taboo imagery and a cast mostly consisting of actors with Down syndrome. The follow-up is more straightforward, making it even more uncomfortable.
The late Steven C. Stewart, who had cerebral palsy in real life, plays Paul with a disarming lack of vanity. Although the other characters always understand him, his speech is difficult to understand and Stewart's dialogue is intentionally not subtitled. He has visible difficulty with some physical movements and his full-frontal nude shots are hardly beefcake material.
At times, watching Stewart struggle to express himself in one of Glover's highly stylized ugly-kitsch sets feels like pure exploitation. It looks as if "Gummo" director Harmony Korine decided to remake an early John Waters comedy without the humor. Yet, there are laughs in "Fine," albeit of the darker variety, and there is even a purpose to what on paper admittedly sounds like a sick exercise in nihilism.
Stewart wrote the screenplay himself, and getting the film made was Stewart's longtime ambition. Glover, who called it "probably the best film I'll ever be a part of," says that Stewart passed away shortly after filming wrapped, as if he were waiting for it to be finished.
In his own afterward, Stewart stated that his goal was showing that "a person with a severe handicap and disabilities has feelings too, and can sometimes go over the edge." Viewed as one man's exorcism of frustration, "Fine" is actually quite an eye-opening experience, albeit one not for everyone (especially not children).
Because Glover's working outside the system (he made "Fine" with his salary from the first "Charlie's Angels" movie for lack of investors, and there are no plans to release the film on DVD), he travels from town to town with his film. He precedes it with his narrated "Big Slide Show," and since even the most open-minded viewer might not be sure how they feel about it, he follows it with a Q&A.
"It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE" screens, with Glover in person, at 8 p.m. today through Sunday at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. Tickets are $17 in advance, $20 at the door. Visit www.musicboxtheatre.com.
"It Is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE."
Three stars out of four
Opens today
Steven C. Stewart as Paul Baker
Margit Carstensen as Linda Barnes
Carrie Szlasa as Karma Barnes
Written by Steven C. Stewart. Produced by Crispin Hellion Glover. Directed by David Brothers and Crispin Hellion Glover. A Volcanic Eruptions release. At the Music Box Theatre, Chicago. Not rated by the MPAA; for adults only (nudity, violence, sexual situations). Running time: 74 minutes.