Dadaism... Huh?

Rating: Null/10 (14 April 2002)

I grow weary of giving David Lynch a chance time and again. Mulholland Drive exemplifies this. Once again, David Lynch has managed to gain the funding to mish-mash some sort of sad, sexual wet dream into what is again being pawned off as "film."
First we had to endure Eraserhead. I don't know what was up with cancer cheeks in the radiator and falling brain stem worms, all I know is that after about an hour of weird fetuses and ostentatious attempts to make me feel uncomfortable, I had fallen asleep, and been kicked, promptly, four times. My best friend has this valuable quote to contribute: "I'm not watching this s*** alone!"
Then there was Dune. While managing to formulate a coherent plot, mostly due to the fact that it was based on a novel, it still missed the mark, bordering on seemingly ten hours length. Lynch, don't try to fit six novels worth of political intrigue into a movie ever again.
I have to offer some congratulations for the exceptional direction in Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, and I will always cherish these productions... and claim them as the reason I continue to endeavor Lynch film.
Then travesty of travesty struck. Lost Highway... Lynch's "Dadaism" at its "best." This film completely disregarded all sense of plot or anything otherwise central to most film. "But James, narrative film isn't the only type of film," say you? Well you're right, it isn't, but that doesn't negate the pseudo-surrealistic, pretentiously "thought provoking" nature of the film. Or the fact that it invoked, like a demon, complete boredom.
There were a few others, but due to limitations, I shall speak now of Mulholland Drive. This film is simply a reiteration of themes in Lost Highway. And that is distinctly what makes it worse. It is simply Lost Highway with better film quality. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the narrative structure has never been so dissolved as it is now. Anyway, don't see this Dadaist crap; you'll only end up wanting the two and half hours of your life (and rental fee) back.