17. Failure's Satirist

G!

At first glance, you will
Not realize that the films
Of Alexander Payne are
More or less all about
Ordinary people getting
Failed in life, and getting
It hard. This is because
In an Alexander Payne
Movie we the audience
See the utter failures of
The characters through an
Intimate yet mocking lens;
When depressed alcoholic
Paul Giamatti loses it and
Drinks himself silly while in
California wine country with
Broken-nosed Thomas
Hayden Church, we laugh
At their sorry state of affairs
Because their misery is so
Incredible it makes life
Seem ridiculous, as often
Happens when we're
Depressed; when high
School teacher Matthew
Broderick (with a bee sting
On his eyelid) gets the ax
For sabotaging the school
Election (perhaps for the
Better), we laugh at the
Total disintegration of his
Life up to that point and
The cruel hilarity of his
Predicament; and when
George Clooney rages
At his comatose wife for
Cheating on him (the best
Of such scenes since Marlon
Brando rages at his dead wife
Beside her coffin in Last Tango
In Paris), we feel sorry for him
But laugh at his powerlessness
To settle his case in a meaningful
Confrontation (it's even funnier
Because it's George Clooney
Doing the raging). Sideways,
Election, The Descendants,
And a pair of road movies:
About Schmidt and Nebraska,
Where old Jack Nicolson and
Bruce Dern realize they've failed
Quite majorly their whole lives,
Are all movies about ordinary
People whose lives are in
Disarray, who fail in their
Quest to improve them-
Selves and go on living
Just as they had before.
By all accounts Payne's
Movies should be quite
Miserable experiences,
Yet they are not; at the
Rock bottom of misery
Lies the humor of black
Comedy; the wonderful
Films of Alexander Payne
Showcases failure in the
Most satirical, enjoyable
Light.