The Filmcake

December 28th – January 3rd

World’s Greatest Dad - This one was a genuine surprise. And while a film should properly stand or falter based on its own merits, it can’t go without saying that this film was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. It’s sort of a slightly more demented version of an Alexander Payne film that is also one of the few films I’ve ever seen that could be credibly classified as Heathers-esque. To be clear, this movie is not as good as Heathers or an Alexander Payne film, but it is certainly a refreshingly perverse black comedy. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I look forward to checking out the other two Goldthwait written and directed films: Shakes the Clown and Sleeping Dogs Lie (or Stay).

The Cove - A documentary that follows Ric O’Barry (the original Flipper dolphin trainer), director Louie Psihoyos, and crew as they delve into the Japanese town of Taiji in order to expose the dolphin drive hunting that occurs in a hidden away cove. It is a compelling documentary and certainly worthy of its place on the 2009 Oscar shortlist. It’s an effective piece of advocacy filmmaking. For all the people who attend Sea World and its ilk, or have ever paid to swim with dolphins, this is mandatory viewing. And even though the film is obviously one-sided, it’s hard to think that there exists a reasonable explanation for why the inhumane treatment of dolphins is okay.

Perhaps I am so firmly on board with the animal welfare argument this film makes, but part of me was underwhelmed with the horrors the movie espouses. The film itself claims about 23,000 dolphins are killed annually in Japan, with a tenth of those killed in the town of Taiji. Is that so much more horrific than the more than 100 million pigs slaughtered in factory farms in the U.S. each year? Are dolphins that much smarter and cuter that they deserve that much more of our sympathy? Perhaps dolphins are exceptionally intelligent–and an argument can be made for why it is more morally wrong to kill a more sentient and intelligent creature over one that is less so–but are pigs (not to mention chickens and cattle) so unworthy of a life free from cruelty and the horrors of captivity?