Post by lordofdance on Apr 27, 2007 19:47:24 GMT -5
Cliches. Just how bad an offense is it to unaplogetically include them in a movie? There are some movies that make use of cliches, but at least try to put some sort of spin on them. There are others that include them jokingly. Then there are those movies that just flat out include them, almost as though the filmmaker is looking the viewer in the eye and saying, "Yeah, so?"
A very common cliche, particularly in thrillers, it seems, is the bickering couple that learn to love each other again after a traumatic encounter. In Vacancy, Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale play that bickering couple. As an added bonus, they also have a young child that died by accident, which is the cause of the bickering. I thought to myself as I watched Vacancy, "Does this bickering add depth to the characters, or is it merely a manipulative, half-assed attempt to add more dramatic resonance to the movie?" It's not enough to show a couple being chased around by psychopaths, but they need to have issues as well, I guess.
Really,though, the depth of the characters doesn't matter that much in a movie like this one. Watching them figure out how to escape certain, tortutous death should be enough if the whole thing is handled well, right? This can be true, even if the bickering couple cliche is really annoying. However, I'm not sure that the cat-and-mouse portion of the movie was handled all that well. Sure, the villains were cold-blooded and evil and wore scary masks. And I acknowledge that the movie doesn't waste much time getting right to the action. It's just that, there wasn't anything terribly new thrown in to distinguish this movie from any other movie like it. Can you believe that there's a scarificial police officer in Vacancy? You know, the out of shape/rookie police officer that gets called to rescue the protagonists, but always ends up dead. Let me describe the scenario:
The protagonists manage to get to a phone and call the police. A lone, out of shape/rookie cop shows up and questions the villain who pretends not to know what is going on. While the police officer is distracted, the villain does him in. The villain gloats. The protagonists are disheartened.
The director/screenwriter doesn't even try to do something new with the scenario. It is lifted directly out of numerous other movies. This could even be forgiven, I suppose, if the final showdown was really, really exciting and memorable... but it's not. It's pretty typical.
Vacancy is about a bickering couple that end up at a remote hotel operated by sadistic murderers. Now, there are plenty of ways to run with a story like this one. Unfortunately, the people behind Vacancy decided to take one of the least innovative routes. If cliches don't bother you, and all you're looking for is some quick and easy thrills, then Vacancy isn't a bad choice. If you're tired of the same old crap, though, this is waste of 80 minutes.
** of *****
Here's an interview with the director: www.chud.com/index.php?type=interviews&id=9858
