a lot less than the sum of its parts

Rating: Null/10 (12 October 2001)

I loved "Blue Velvet," and at the opening of "Mulholland Drive" I thought we were in familiar territory. Then I thought Lynch was a bit overdoing the "old rich white men control everything" shtick. But then there was the "ingenue comes to make her mark on Hollywood" shtick, the "monster from my dreams is in the backyard" shtick, the "over the top killings just to get one not-so-little black book" shtick, the "lesbian porn" shtick, the mysterious stacks of cash, the mysterious key, the mysterious blue box... even a weak attempt at plot circling back on itself so that what happens after has to have happened before... and more.
If "Mulholland Drive" isn't a spoof on all these genres by piling them one on top of the other, then it isn't anything at all. Yes, there are some funny bits, a few poignant moments, a lushly ominous soundtrack, but it doesn't add up to anything at all -- it's all much less than the sum of its parts.