Review:
"The Beach Bum"
Release Date: March 29, 2019
Rating: R Running Time: 95 minutes Matthew McConaughey as a Key West sunbaked bard? Yeah, the role of The Beach Bum’s Moondog fits the free-wheelin’ Austinite as comfortably as a pair of men’s designer flip flops. Heck, writer/director Harmony Korine even plays into McConaughey’s “Alright, alright, alright” public persona by throwing in a shot of his leading man banging the bongos. It’s not that another actor couldn’t play pleasure-seeking poet Moondog but it’s too easy to imagine McConaughey indulging in the same hedonistic lifestyle. And the pairing of McConaughey and Korine results in a drug-fueled comedy that needs to be taken on its own nonchalant terms. Go with the flow and you will be rewarded with a gleefully mischievous film version of those “Florida Man” tweets that never cease to amuse or to amaze. The Beach Bum also finds Korine once again exposing the Sunshine State as a perilous playground for the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the innocent and the corrupted. The Beach Bum is the flipside to the dark and manic Spring Breakers, which in its own way was a cautionary tale about succumbing to all the temptations that Florida offers so openly. For Korine, The Beach Bum is a bright and breezy celebration of beach life with unconditional affection for its fun-lovin’ burnouts. And he doesn’t care whether his casting is too on the nose. Aside from McConaughey, The Beach Bum features Snoop Dogg as Moondog’s equally stoned best friend Lingerie and iconic South Florida singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett as a fictional version of himself. McConaughey’s Moondog is a spiritual cousin of Jeff Bridges’ The Dude. Only he can afford to fed his addictions day and night because he’s a published poet who also married into money. He and his wife Minnie (played with controlled abandon by Isla Fisher) enjoy an open marriage that only seems to strengthen their relationship. For the first 30 minutes or so, The Beach Bum follows Moondog as he squanders their cash on drugs, booze, and sex. Then Moondog finds himself penniless and is forced to finish a long-gestating book of poetry if he wants to get back in the money. But this turn of events doesn’t stop Moondog from continuing to party hard. The remaining hour of The Beach Bum offers a series of encounters that allow Moondog to enjoy drugs, booze, and sex regardless of his financial status. He turns to crime when he falls in with drug addict Flicker (a hilariously crazed Zac Efron) and then tries to go straight after meeting up with old buddy Captain Whack (Martin Lawrence, at his affable), a tour boat guide with an obsession with dolphins. Oh, Moondog does pause every now and then to bang out a few pages of proses on his antique typewriter. Story doesn’t matter to Korine. He’s just interested in what drives Moondog’s creative juices. But Moondog’s art isn’t his poetry. It is life. And Moondog lives life as he wants and lives it to the fullest. Yes, Moondog is selfish and is self-destructive, and Korine doesn’t shy away from depicting him as such. And Moondog’s lifestyle certainly isn’t for everyone, even if McConaughey tries to convince you otherwise. Moondog is Peter Pan as the spring breaker who refused to leave Florida. Korine’s point with The Beach Bum is that these are dark times, life is too short, and that we need to enjoy ourselves whenever possible. And that Florida is perhaps not the best place to visit if you cannot control your worst impulses. Robert Sims Aired: March 28, 2019 Web site: https://www.thebeachbummovie.com |
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