CRASH & CRASH & MELINDA & MELINDA

When I crash, you crash (just like that)

Odds are that I am neither the first nor the second nor the third person to recommend to you the movie Crash, the directorial debut by Million Dollar Baby writer Paul Haggis, who also co-wrote the compelling script.

Thus far, Crash is easily the best film of the year, which isn't saying much given its competition is Meet the Fockers and Monster in Law (when did in-laws become the new terrorists?). Similar to one of my favorite films Magnolia, this movie is a cross-cutting ensemble movie that interweaves the lives of different people in LA, colliding through serendipity, coincidence, or bad luck.

Given the diverse cast of characters that range the spectrum from hoodlums to politicians, I thought Haggis' script was the star of the film, as the diverse array of characters were all credible and convincing. I sensed that the entire theater (I saw the film with a mostly black audience in Oakland) was familiar with everyone on the screen. The writing, of course, was aided by the bomb cast, of which Terrence Howard, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe, and yes, Ludacris stood out.

That said, I disagree with those touting this film as a brilliant essay on intolerance, stereotypes, and the American melting pot. I'm not sure this film says much on the nature of race relations, other than "everyone's a little bit racist," to borrow a line from Avenue Q.

I thought the film was, quite simply, a great story. All the critics, on the other hand, seem to be engaging in a cinematic circle jerk in a frenzied quest to avoid the cracker and find deeper meaning in the fact that all the rainbow coalition of characters (except for the Chicano/Latino ones) are flawed.

For example, David Denby of the New Yorker writes that Crash is about:

... the rage and foolishness produced by intolerance, the mutual abrasions of white, black, Latino, Middle Eastern, and Asian citizens in an urban pot in which nothing melts. ... Apart from a few brave scenes in Spike Lee’s work, 'Crash' is the first movie I know of to acknowledge not only that the intolerant are also human but, further, that something like white fear of black street crime, or black fear of white cops, isn’t always irrational.

What? I'm guessing opium is what you'll find in this critic's pipe, although David Denby is Caucasian, not Asian, which means that he's a better driver than me and less likely to crash. Now please donate to the United Negro College Fund.

To make a long story short, Crash is a long collection of short stories that is simply the best entertainment that six dollars, using a senior citizen discount, can buy without involving donkeys and dynamite.

But if you're looking for a thesis on race relations, you're better off watching something else or reading this.

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Not Anchorman 2

Speaking of ensemble films with interweaving tales, I also recommend Melinda and Melinda, which I put near the top tier of Woody Allen's library of 36 films (and counting). As for the last 15 years, it's easily the best Woody Allen film not starring Woody Allen.

While Woody is normally cursed by the fact that all of his films seem like poor imitations of his earlier works, this movie is an original. Radha Mitchell gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Melinda, doing double-duty in both a comic and dramatic role.

Will Ferrell might have actually been the weakest link in the film, as he seemed to be impersonating Woody Allen at points.

--Junichi