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The Faculty
**
Cinema
Releases - April 9, 1999
Rated on a 4-star
scale. USA. Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Written by Kevin Williamson; from
a story by Brice Kimmel and David Wechter. Starring Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett,
Clea DuVall, Jordana Brewster, Shawn Hatosy, Laura Harris, Robert Patrick,
Bebe Neuwirth, Famke Janssen.
There are some great teachers in this world, but
there are far more weird ones. I'm playing through my mind the strangest
I've known... teachers who wore the same old clothes every day. Teachers
with bizarre facial ticks. Teachers with accents unknown to any place in
the world. Teachers with irrational tempers. And chemistry
teachers.
In Robert Rodriguez's "The Faculty",
a troupe of moody Ohio high-schoolers notice the bodies of their teachers
are being taken over by aliens. These aliens, it seems, are quickly spreading
all over town -- not that this wouldn't be an improvement, since most of
the residents are American Football-loving hicks.
Still, these nice little youngsters feel the need
to try and kill the extra-terrestrial invaders. Elijah Wood stars as Casey,
the shy little lad who makes the initial discovery. Josh Hartnett is Zeke,
the rebel who will undoubtedly turn responsible by the end of the film, so
he can protect one of the ladies and kiss her as the credits roll. Newcomer
Clea DuVall is in full gothic clothing and makeup as dark outsider Stokely,
who everyone seems to think is a lesbian. Jordana Brewster's Delilah is the
sexy, popular, cheerleading prom-queen, who's dating Stan (Shawn Hatosy),
a jock who wishes he was smarter. Rounding off the gang of six, Laura Harris
plays Marybeth, an airhead tramp from down South, who's new to the school,
and smiles a lot.
The film spends quite a while setting up its rather
silly plot, so we get used to the geography of the high school and the colourful
nature of the supporting cast. Included in this are cameos by Salma Hayek
("Desperado") and Harry Knowles (http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com), as well
as appearances by Robert Patrick ("Terminator 2") as an
even-more-psychotic-than-most athletics coach and Bebe Neuwirth ("Cheers")
as a nondescript headmistress.
When director Rodriguez finally gets to some action,
the youngsters somehow ascertain that one of their number is the leader of
the aliens, who should be killed to free everyone else from their enslavement.
This plot point is illogical and uninteresting, and a foolish device for
propelling the climax. The guilty party, to give you a hint, is the only
kid who isn't a 90s equivalent of a "Breakfast Club" character, and the only
one who isn't a local.
My film critic friend and mentor Harvey Karten,
a high-school teacher himself, seems to be angry about "The Faculty". It
seems to have dragged up memories about the constant complaining at those
in his chosen profession, and he was also annoyed about how over-the-top
its special-effects go, when the atmosphere was cleverly creepier without
them. Another colleague, Scott Renshaw, was angry at how the film tried to
pass itself off as a hip commentary on the clichés it shamelessly
employed. I myself was not made angry by anything in "The Faculty". I agree
that it contains the flaws Karten and Renshaw point out. But I didn't care.
A lot of the film just flew right past me. Tentacles were flying out of peoples'
heads, and I was yawning.
I will concede that technically, the film flows
nicely. It's a stylish production, with some sexy starlets and a good soundtrack.
But unlike Rodriguez's "From Dusk Till Dawn", which was crazy and fiery and
exciting, it lacks a certain gusto -- it never has the passion to turn up
the level of drama, humour, romance or violence. Instead, it just makes constant
use of the word "man". Whoa, man. Dreary, man. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
has been re-released. See that instead, man.
COPYRIGHT© 1999 Ian
Waldron-Mantgani
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