Signature Lynch, but what if instead the two leads were MALE?

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2002)

First and foremost: Mulholland Drive is indeed a beautiful film, despite what may seem like me bitching somewhat within the next several paragraphs. Just read on...
I'm glad I saw Mulholland Drive and yes, I enjoyed it. To an extent. David Lynch is a master of the surreal, and it seems to me that by bowing to the current "hot lesbian fantasy" trend, he messed up. If Lynch wanted to be more bold and make the bizarre story of Mulholland Drive more mysterious and intriguing, he could have tried putting two males as the lead characters. Ah, you say that's box office poison, well I say Mulholland Drive wasn't expected to be a blockbuster to begin with (the same goes for his other films). Lynch needs to keep on his toes to be more original with each film, and by doing what so many OTHER films are doing and trying to make ANOTHER film with lipstick lesbians is getting tired very fast.
It's funny that some people are gushing about how beautiful the two love scenes are in the film. I think these are people like Roger Ebert, who automatically gives a thumbs up to any film with a lesbian element. I actually laughed throughout one of the two scenes, as Laura Elena Harring's gravity-defying breasts were just too much of a distraction. Looked like any soft core scene you can catch late night on Cinemax. In that second scene where she lay there saying "You drive me wild," while her breasts are pointing straight up... it's impossible to keep a straight face after that. It would just have made more sense to have these characters as men, as it is SET in Hollywood and the gay male sensibility would be more appropriate. Apparently though it's only those that seek comfort in Howard Stern and The Man Show that would have been uncomfortable watching those two "love" scenes the way I feel they should have been.
Still, Mulholland Drive is one of those fun Lynch puzzle pieces that keeps you thinking and forces you to go back and view a few more times to figure things out. Which is why too that his philosophy that DVDs should not have chapter stops is a big mistake -- for a 2 1/2 hour film, a DVD without chapter stops is a frustrating thing. You can't go back to certain scenes to reassess clues. And the fact that Universal wants (at its first retail release) $32.99 for it (though I'm sure many of you like me paid about $22.99), no chapter stops and basically no extras is not a smart thing to do to fans of Lynch. At least the Blue Velvet DVD thru MGM had a nifty easter egg on it.
Since the film was originally made as a pilot for the ABC network, it's almost obvious where the film goes off on a wilder tangent for the theatrical production. Still, the cinematography is flawless, Angelo Badalementi's score is once again unique, and even if you're left scratching your head it's worth the experience. How in the HECK did Lynch get Ann Miller to be in this film! (How did he get Hope Lange for Blue Velvet?) I was glad that Lynch offered 10 clues on the DVD packaging to help you with the story, but I'm still figuring some of them out. Just as in Twin Peaks, I believe sometimes things that are "clues" aren't really that at all, but just weirdness that exists within the film and not having actual relevance to solving it.
You can say I have a love/hate thing going on with Mulholland Drive. I know for sure though, if Lynch continues to make more films that get closer and closer to Spice Channel productions, then I'll be jumping OFF the Lynch bandwagon for sure.