I Think Your Film is Too... Pretentious... Oh Shut Up Hack!

Known for his eccentric films like the 1994 documentary Crumb and 2001's bleak comedy Ghost World, Terry Zwigoff was hailed as a director who gave voice to the outsiders. While his first two films were widely acclaimed and were modest success in the box office, Zwigoff continued to channel his world of eccentricity. While 2003's Bad Santa was a more commercial film in which Billy Bob Thornton played an alcoholic Santa Claus with bad habits and helping a kid get through Christmas. The film was still a success despite not having the same acclaim or reverence of his earlier work. In 2006, Zwigoff reunited with his Ghost World co-writer Daniel Clowes for a mediation of the art world and all of its bizarre stereotypes for Art School Confidential.

Written by Clowes and directed by Zwigoff, Art School Confidential tells the story of a talented young artist who goes to an East Coast art school to find his ambitions put to the test against snobbish artists while falling for a model in which he tries to vie for her affections. In a film that is a satire of sorts about the art world and art school, Clowes and Zwigoff takes a trip to a young man's world as his hopes to be a great artist is put to the test. Starring Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Ethan Suplee, Matt Keeslar, Joel David Moore, Anjelica Huston, and Jim Broadbent. Art School Confidential is a witty, satirical film from Terry Zwigoff.

Throughout his entire life, Jerome Platz (Max Minghella) has aspired to be an artist and hopefully, the greatest of the 21st Century. Inspired by Picasso, Jerome, who is very talented, feels that he needs to go to a school called Strathmore Institute near New York City in order to broaden his artistic horizons while falling for a model (Sophia Myles) who is pictured at the brochure. Jerome gets accepted at Strathmore where he rooms with a fashion major named Matthew (Nick Swardson) and a film major named Vince (Ethan Suplee) working on a film about a series of murders nearby the school where he's known as the Strathmore Strangler. Taking a class under the tutelage of a renowned local artist named Sandiford (John Malkovich), Jerome befriends a creepy student named Bardo (Joel David Moore) while being surrounded by a bunch of cliched personality who all have snobbish attitudes towards art. During lunch with Matthew and Vince, Jerome sees the model he's in love with as she models one day during his drawing class in which he is entranced by.

One day in class, Jerome's criticism over one's art work brought nothing but harsh judgement from most of his classmates but one of them named Jonah (Matt Keeslar) agrees with him despite the fact that Jonah doesn't look or act like most of the students. After Bardo tries to introduce him to other girls, he introduces him to a reclusive, brilliant ex-Strathmore grad named Jimmy (Jim Broadbent) who gives Jerome some advice about making it though Strathmore. When Jerome attends a student's art gallery, he sees the photo of the model he's in love with where she attends and learns her name is Audrey, the daughter of a famous artist named Donald Baumgarten (Michael Shamus Wiles) who Jerome knows and kinda likes as an artist. Jerome and Audrey go on a date to attend a gallery by her friend Candace (Katherine Moennig) at a coffee house called Broadway Bob named after its eccentric owner (Steve Buscemi).

Then one day in class, Jerome receives something that will stop his quest when Jonah reveals his first painting of a car that is done in a straightforward approach. Nearly all the students and Sandiford think it's great art but Jerome is dumbfounded. Audrey is impressed by Jonah's work as Jerome finds himself competing for her attention as he even does everything including changing his own approach of art. Meanwhile, the killing spree of the Strathmore Strangler is increasing and after a woman is killed, Vince finds a new direction where he hires a Beat girl (Lauren Lee Smith) as his star. After trying to get into the art gallery for Marvin Bushmiller (Adam Scott) in which Audrey was invited, Jerome is heartbroken that she's with Jonah as he seeks advice from Jimmy.

In a final, desperate attempt, Jerome hopes to win her heart with some art while he learns that Jimmy is a talented, unique artist in whom, he hopes to borrow his paintings to further his chances. With an investigation of the Strathmore Strangler getting closer, Jerome becomes increasingly despondent asking more advice from Jimmy and from another teacher in Sophie (Anjelica Huston). It is when Jerome finally decides once and for all to reveal that his art means something amidst the snobbish students, uninspired teachers, and most of all, Jonah.

While not all art schools are filled with uninspired teachers or very snobbish students, what Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes does is pretty much make fun of the art school experience. Yet, every student have one common goal and that is to be a great artist. Unfortunately, like one of the characters who does become a great artist, they end up becoming even worse people. It's really a satire of the art world everyone is judgmental and wanting to take everyone down to bring themselves up. Clowes writes a lot of witty exaggerations of the art world when it's really about a young man trying to find the right note into becoming a great artist only to learn that it's in him and not for anyone else. While a subplot involving the Strathmore Strangler is very funny, the suspense though falters once the idea of who the killer is gets revealed where its suspense is lost. That is the only flaw Clowes and Zwigoff muster yet Zwigoff does craft a very funny film that is true about the way people are towards art and even film.

Helping Zwigoff with his unique vision is cinematographer Jamie Anderson brings wonderful lighting schemes to some of the film's dirty, grungy sequences. Notably the scenes with Jimmy are wonderfully lit as is the art labs to reveal everything that artists go through in the atmosphere they're in. Production designer Howard Cummings and art director Peter Borck does wonderful work in designing the posh look of the New York art world and the amateurish galleries of the students that's featured drawings by Daniel Clowes doing Jonah, Caitlin-Mitchell Dayton doing Jerome, and Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh doing the work of Bushmiller. Costume designer Betsy Heimann brings wonderful style to the clothing of the cast to its variety of characters and their cliched personalities. Editor Robert Hoffman does some nice, leisurely cutting to convey the structure of Jerome's disillusionment as well as perspective cutting on the characters. Sound editor John Nutt also does excellent work to the sound to convey the mood of what the artists are doing.

While the plaintive, piano-driven score work of David Kitay isn't as memorable as his amazing score in Ghost World, it does play to the melancholia of Jerome. The rest of the film's soundtrack is largely filled with playful, classical pieces including an appearance from Fountains of Wayne with their hit song, Stacy's Mom.

The film's cast is wonderfully handled with memorable small performances from Jeanette Box, Jeremy Guskin, Monika Ramnath, Isaac Laskin, Scoot McNairy, and Finneus Egan as Jerome's judgmental classmates in all of their cliched glory. Other small performances from Ezra Buzzington (Weird Al in Ghost World) as a nude model, Nick Swardson, Kimi Reichenberg and Alexandra Ryan as failed dates of Jerome's, Michael Shamus Wiles, Jack Ong as an non-caring professor, and a hilarious cameo from Steve Buscemi. Adam Scott is excellent as the jerk art genius who think he's better than everyone while Lauren Lee Smith is funny as the weird Beat Girl. Katherine Moennig of The L Word is very funny as Sophie's aggressive friend who claims that she used to have a lesbian relationship with her. Joel David Moore is really funny as Bardo while Ethan Suplee is wonderful as the wannabe-director Vince. While she's only in a couple of scenes and somewhat wasted, Anjelica Huston is excellent in the brief scenes she's in. Matt Keeslar is also good as the good-looking yet conventional Jonah who has a shady role that he's trying to hide.

Jim Broadbent is wonderfully funny as the frustrated, cynical ex-Strathmore grad who gives Jerome some insight into the world of art and how to make which he reveals that even through the most honest intentions, it's not enough. Broadbent is really one of the film's best performances. John Malkovich, who is also a producer for the film, is really funny as the bland yet experienced Professor Sandiford where despite his intentions as a teacher, the man is really an untalented artist trying to get another break only to realize that he's not the great artist his students think he is. Sophia Myles is absolutely ravishing as Audrey, a model who is frustrated with the art world and is confused over who has a more honest view of art as she tries to understand Jerome. Max Minghella gives a phenomenal performance as the talented but naive Jerome. Minghella really brings the pain of Jerome who develops from this gifted artist to someone who tries other things only to realize that he's in a very judgmental world where his best might not be good enough. Minghella really shines in this film.

The Region 1 DVD of Art School Confidential from Sony Pictures Classic & United Artists presents the film in the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen ration with 5.1 Dolby Digital in English, Spanish, and Portugese, and 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound in French. Subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portugese, and Chinese are available, especially in some of the film's special features. The special features includes five several featurettes starting with a making-of scene where Zwigoff and Clowes discuss the inspiration of the film while talking to several of its actors including Max Minghella and Sophia Myles, who are both British, as they enjoyed working with Zwigoff. The Sundance Featurette which includes interviews with several cast member including crew members as they discussed the screening. Minghella, admits that watching himself is depressing yet he enjoyed the audience reaction.

11-minutes worth of 12 deleted scenes are revealed in which some of them are funny and heartwrenching. One funny scene reveals the frustration of Sandiford while another reveals more of the tension between Jonah and Jerome including a scene where Jonah learns something that Jerome had said. Another deleted scene featurette involves the film's ending where Jerome's classmates make comments about a character's artwork and give their opinions. The blooper reel is really hilarious where all the actors are laughing including a scene of Malkovich trying to destroy a painting and another where he makes Minghella laugh by saying "Charo, Charo" repeatedly. The reel also includes an alternate take of an interview with Malkovich for the film. Finally, the DVD includes several trailers for films like The Devil & Daniel Johnston, Pedro Almodovar's Volver, Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower, Stranger Than Fiction, and the teaser trailer to Sofia Coppola's brilliant Marie-Antoinette.

While it's not up to par with earlier films like Crumb or Ghost World, Art School Confidential is still an excellent, witty satire from Terry Zwigoff. With a wonderful screenplay by Daniel Clowes and a superb cast led by Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, and Jim Broadbent. Art School Confidential is something that fans of Ghost World might enjoy more than those who liked Bad Santa while the film does have a little bit of lowbrow humor. Still, for a film that makes fun of the art world and the artists themselves, Art School Confidential is the film to see.

Related Review:

Ghost World (2001):

http://www.epinions.com/content_108939415172