Sleeper Cell: Masked and Anonymous (2003)

This movie is important. Plain and simple. But not that simple. There are a lot of things working against Masked and Anonymous, not the least of which is that it was written and directed by the co-creator of Seinfeld, Larry Charles (Religulous). After all, why on earth should we listen to a professional comedian about the state of world affairs? And it certainly doesn’t help that there was virtually¬†no marketing campaign and that it was released opposite the arthouse juggernaut, Le Divorce. It’s also an uber-politically active (or socially active, depending on how you take it) movie – never the best blockbusters. The cast list is¬†more than impressive, but you wouldn’t be wrong to call Masked and Anonymous “preachy.” It preaches its head off. But it says things that need to be said. More on that later – for now, let’s keep with protocol:

The plot is¬†mostly simple. The perpetually sweaty Uncle Sweetheart owes lots of people lots of money. To make that money, he’s planning to stage a benefit concert with the cheapest acts he can find (including a Pope John Paul II impersonator and a prognosticator named Ella the Fortune Teller). The headliner of the group is the washed-up, has-been folk singer, Jack Fate. The television network is pushing hard on Sweetheart and his boss Nina to make this concert work, which will most surely be a huge debacle, while Jack buses his way up to the capital city. …and it’s not Washington D.C.

Jesus

Top 5 Most Over the Top Symbolic Character Names:

 5 РLeeland Gaunt РNeedful Things

4 – Kal-El (meaning “Voice of God”) – Superman

3 – Stanley Goodspeed – The Rock

2 – Neo – The Matrix

1 – Jesus – The Last Temptation of Christ

Because, of course, this movie is not only a political, talk-your-ears-off movie, it’s also science fiction. Not science fiction in the way that the buses fly (which they don’t) or the food is all processed vitamin caplets (which it isn’t), but science fiction in the Philip K. Dick / Michael Chabon kind of way. So in this reality, the nation seems to be (based on the flags) a Canada/United States/Mexico/etc. amalgam where war and revolution are running out of control, and the president’s face is plastered all over everything in an incredibly un-sublte Saddam Hussein fashion. Masked and Anonymous is not about subtlety.

So there are 2 parallel (sort of) plots that don’t exactly cross (but kinda do). The president is dying, and we see through flashbacks that he has a tumultuous history with Jack and the situation gradually works itself to a resolution. The “kinda” crossing is that the benefit concert is the Sweetheart-ex-Machina that brings Jack to the capital. The secondary plot is what we viewers learn about society at large from the conversations between the characters. It’s an ambitious movie. The script itself is chock-full of fortune cookie wisdom, which is all well and good to poke fun at, but dammit, fortune cookies have really great advice sometimes!

The History of the Fortune Cookie Limerick (like you weren’t expecting this…)

California Cookie

First sold in San Francisco
in Japanese Tea Garden Disco
the cookie’s molded
then unfolded
now marketed by Nabisco

 

Masked and Anonymous is all about the words. It’s¬†all about the dialogue, which is rarely stock or forced, but is incredibly dense for modern movie-making. I’m not saying it’s Shakespeare (it doesn’t even rhyme), but that Bob Dylan and Larry Charles (credited as Sergie Petrov and Rene Fontaine) craft a coherent, effective script out of statements such as: “I don’t know. Ever heard of cellulose? It’s in the grass. Cows can digest it. But you can’t. And neither can I,” without coming off as smarter-than-you intellectual snobs is pretty miraculous. Of course, there’s no doubt this movie wasn’t more popular because they¬†did come off as smarter-than-you intellectual snobs. But just because we don’t like to be told that we need to grow up doesn’t mean we don’t need to hear it.

Of course, if you’re not into political commentaries, please feel free to watch the movie for the 4 or 5 live performances Jack Dylan performs with his band. It’s half the fun of watching. Here’s a spoiler-free taste:

Jack Fate with a Simple Twist of Fate

It’s a little overdue, so if you’re still not convinced to see this movie, here’s the RIDICULOUS CAST LIST:
in order of appearance – the major players:
John Goodman as Uncle Sweetheart-
As long as I keep talking, I know I’m still alive.
Jessica Lange as Nina Veronica-
You can’t compare the here and now with the there and then.
Bob Dylan as Jack Fate-
I haven’t felt free in a long time.
Jeff Bridges as Tom Friend-
Would you reach out to a drowning man?
Penelope Cruz as Pagan Lace-
You gotta look through the windshield, not at it.
Mickey Rourke as Edmund-
You ever met any big star with a set of nuts?
Luke Wilson as Bobby Cupid-
You want the world to be flat? It’s flat.
Angela Bassett as The Mistress-
A home is a refuge.

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

In the most recent Breachcast, it was made clear that not everyone enjoys knowing the surprise cameos going into the first viewing of a movie. Completely understandable. It feels like the entire purpose of a cameo can be an inside joke. A little easter egg for those in the know to have a little laugh of “Hey I didn’t know he was in this.” So, if you share that feeling, just gloss over the next few lines and suffice it to say, it’s impressive…

The Cameos
Cheech Marin – That’s a good direction. I’ve done that a lot.
Bruce Dern – Make something out of it. If you can’t do that, make it up.
Giovanni Ribisi – I didn’t know what the answers were.
Richard Sarafian as the president
Fred Ward – Who in Hell’s presiding over this slaughterhouse? You or me?
Val Kilmer – Rabbit don’t try to do an impression of a monkey.
Christian Slater – There’s really only 2 races: workers and bosses.
Chris Penn – Yeah, you said the same thing last week.
Ed Harris – Everything was going great, as long as you kept your mouth shut.
Jack Fate’s Band:
Tony Garnier – Bass
Larry Campbell – Guitar
Charlie Sexton – Guitar
George Recile – Drums

Mick Jagger as Vacendak

TOP 5 MOVIES STARRING A MUSICIAN (…not named Elivs or John, Paul, George or Ringo)

5 – Idlewild – Andre 3000 / Big Boi

4 – Labyrinth – David Bowie

3 - Blade РKris Kristofferson

2 – Coffee and Cigarettes – Tom Waits / Iggy Pop

1 – Freejack – Mic Jagger

It’s hardly a new practice for Hollywoodites to tell us their political views. From stand-up classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to the more subtle Schindler’s List and Syriana, movie-making often acts as a social-injustice-sniffing watchdog. And I would argue that it’s the duty of filmmakers, along with other visual artists and authors and musicians, to shine the light on every socio-economico-politico inequity they can get their creative hands on. Kurt Vonnegut once told me that artists are the canaries in the American coal mine. As he says in his Address to the American Physical Society in 1969:

“This theory argues that artists are useful to society because they are so sensitive. They are supersensitive. They keel over like canaries in coal mines filled with poison gas, long before more robust types realize that any danger is there.¬†The most useful thing I could do before this meeting today is to keel over. On the other hand, artists are keeling over by the thousands every day and nobody seems to pay the least attention.”

Of course Koort was more referring to the Vietnam War.¬†Which artists are keeling over now? So keep your ears open, and when the tweeting quits, make sure your head’s on a swivel.

Kurt

Sleeper Cell is a weekly column that will reflect movies that you perhaps missed or have always been meaning to watch but are too much of an asshole to place into your Netflix queue. ¬†This could be a movie from 50 years ago or a movie from last year. ¬†Bottom line, these are choice flicks and you missed out so Zack and our other writers are going to tell you what’s up.

Recent posts by Zack

• Zack says, "Go see The Avengers." - May 4th, 2012
• Zack's Take on: The Mite Peckish Games - April 12th, 2012
• Sleeper Cell is Late to the Party for: The Woman in Black - March 25th, 2012
• Review: Another Earth (2011) - August 14th, 2011
• Sleeper Cell: Haute Tension (2003) - June 23rd, 2011

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