If you like your comedy blackened like an extremely well-done and gristle-filled steak, then "Clay Pigeons" may just be the picture for you. Reminiscent of the Oscar-nominated picture, "Fargo" in tone, but not quite as clever or well-made, this film similarly takes a nonchalant approach to using murder as a prime source of its comedy.
So-called black humor often runs the fine line between being funny or coming off as sick and offensive. While some viewers will obviously find the proceedings distasteful at best, for the most part the dark and edgy comedy works and is occasionally morbidly funny despite the film not being as good as it could have been.
Featuring an eclectic mix of songs that permeate and often humorously accentuate the plot, including some old Elvis tunes, the film also features a fictional town populated with the now standard and diverse group of richly drawn, but obviously not realistically portrayed cast of characters.
To use Hollywood parlance that's now infiltrated everyday conversations, the film doesn't hesitate to "cut to the chase" and immediately drops us into the story from minute one. As such, the plot is quick to unfold and deliver its exposition simultaneously, although a major twist of sorts takes a little longer to develop.
While certain elements and other developments occasionally strain credibility, let alone plausibility -- such as the whole bit dealing with Clay reporting the body he and Lester found in a lake where he recently dumped the body of his murdered lover -- for the most part such matters aren't bad enough so as to horribly distract the moviegoer or derail the film's momentum.
The film suffers somewhat, however, from not taking the black humor far enough. If that genre's going to be used, it had better be done right and taken to the necessary extremes. While the picture occasionally flirts with the material going that far, it never quite reaches that pinnacle of being charred or blackened enough to fully satiate fans of the genre. Filmmakers need to remember that once you're played your cinematic hand that shows a humorous take on the macabre, it's not very likely you'll scare away audiences by pushing the limits (the wood chipper scene in "Fargo" being a prime example).
To their credit, first time filmmakers director David Dobkin and screenwriter Matt Healy have included a few such scenes, although they're extremely tame in comparison. Not only do we have the widow nonchalantly throwing a clump of rock-filled dirt onto her recently deceased husband's coffin, but also an FBI agent telling a deputy --named Barney no less (a spoof of the Don Knotts character on "The Andy Griffith Show") -- not to poke a dead body with a stick.
Then there's the fishing scene -- scored to the "Dueling Banjos" theme from "Deliverance" -- where the catch Lester and Clay reel in is decidedly not that fresh. Although such moments are certainly dark and morbid, their brevity and the lack of other similarly constructed and accompanying scenes leave the film needing more to really work on this level.
The filmmakers did manage, however, to deliver a nicely constructed scene between the no- nonsense FBI agent -- amusingly played by Janeane Garofalo -- and the serial killer whom we believe has zeroed in on her as his next target. The scene perfectly unfolds and then spins off into an unexpected turn as it comes to an end.
The best scene, however, is a side note to the main plot. Holed up in a cheap motel with nothing better to do, Garofalo's character answers the door to get her pizza from the delivery boy who sees "Alien" playing on the TV and the quarter-fed motel bed hysterically jumping and bouncing across the room. As the young man gives her a knowing smile, Garofalo's smiling but sarcastic reaction is priceless, as is the fact that her muscle-bound partner is watching "Lassie" while all of this is occurring.
In fact, the performances are pretty much what save the production. As the main character, Joaquin Phoenix ("To Die For," "Return to Paradise") furthers the proof that he's becoming the de facto standard for how to play a less than brilliant character who gets caught up in circumstances way over his head. Nobody does it better than Phoenix, and although his character doesn't elicit much sympathy from the viewer, it's still fun to watch him squirm under the growing predicaments he faces.
While his character isn't greatly developed, Vince Vaughn ("Return to Paradise," "Swingers") is a hoot to watch in the "there's something evil under that charming grin" stranger role he inhabits. Perhaps cutting his teeth on the psychopathic role to ready himself for his appearance in the remake of "Psycho" (he'll be playing the Anthony Perkins part), Vaughn is fun to watch as he alternates between being a good ol' boy with a hyena-like laugh and a raging sociopath.
Supporting performances, ranging from Garofalo ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs," "The Matchmaker") and her deadpan reactions and one-liners, to Scott Wilson's ("Shiloh," "G.I. Jane") take as the local yokel sheriff who's more in the know than first expected, are also quite good.
Although music video veteran Dobkin and newcomer Healy show their feature film naivete with some structural, character-related and pacing problems that should have been fixed, the film's difficulties aren't major enough to prevent fans of the humorously macabre from somewhat enjoying the production. Stylishly shot and hip in a "retro" sort of fashion, and featuring some fun performances, the film is a decent, but not great entry in the black comedy genre. We give "Clay Pigeons" a 6 out of 10.
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