Seth Green

STUDIO: Warner Bros. - MSRP:$19.98 RATED: NR - RUNNING TIME: 187 minutes - SPECIAL FEATURES: • Commentary

Stephen King’s IT may be the story that most affected me emotionally as I read it as a boy of fourteen or fifteen (now that I’m 30 I’ve become calloused and evil). There’s something about the way the man tells stories involving children (The Body, which became Stand By Me, for one) that really is magical and special, and picking up the book now and just leafing through it is like having a series of incredibly strong and intense bit of nostalgia washing over me.

I was extremely disappointed with the miniseries when it aired and pretty much summed it up as "yet another Stephen King tale that’ll never get told right in film format".

It’s on DVD again in a nicer edition with a bell here and a whistle there, but is it worth your time?

The Flick

Something was killing the children of Derry, Maine. While the city lived under a numbed cloud of fear and seeming indifference, a group of kids who shared a common bond tried to find and fight the menace before they become its next casualties. Their bond was that they were different. Whether it was because they were poor, black, scrawny, asthmatic, or portly, they were all considered losers by their peers and even their own families.

This "Loser’s Club" faced the evil once, and now that they’ve all scattered and become successful adults it’s their time to go back to their hometown to face it one more time.

"I am the collection of all you fear. I am the culmination of all that is evil and dark, and I can lock you in an endless shell of despair, darkness, and confusion. Would you mind terribly if I eased up close so you can bask in my mediocrity and laugh at my jerkily rendered animatronics?"

Alternating between the present day and during the kids’ first encounter with the evil, scheming Pennywise the Clown (Tim Curry), IT remains pretty damned faithful to the original novel thanks to its miniseries length and an able cast and crew. The problem is that of all King TV adaptations, it’s forced to shy away from the R-rated aspects of the story (especially the Ritual of Chüd from the novel, which would probably never get filmed anyway unless Larry Clark was directing) and the lack of profanity emasculates some of the material that made the books so effective.

The film is equally successful in one thing, and it’s an important one:

Capturing the sense of togetherness that made the story so enriching.

The child actors are all strong enough so that you believe their bond, and the adult actors all portray solid representations of the kids with all the expected mileage and weariness as their memories of that fateful summer seep back in.

His success ahead of him still, Seth Green knew that every actor needs to supplement his screen work with the Boy Scouts of America with their annual SAVE THE CAST MEMBERS OF FROM THE HIP fundraiser.

The villain of the piece is a being that takes the form of a vicious clown (aren’t they all?), but is one whose powers stem from its ability to feed on the fear of its prey. While to book went into great detail about this, a lot of the psychological damage is underplayed here, which sometimes makes it a little cloudy to the viewer. For example, when the Wolf Man appears to Richie (a young Seth Green) it’s not as effective unless you’re fully aware of just how terrified the boy was of the creature. As a result, Pennywise’s far reaching vision comes across a little less impressive.

As the evil clown Tim Curry has a blast and since he’s no stranger to appearing under makeup there’s none of that situation where an actor lets the latex do the acting for them. When it boils down, there’s still a bit of a letdown when comparing the Pennywise of the novel to the 24fps version.

Even the best actors and FX people are no match for our imaginations.

A rare glimpse from Dan Hedaya: The College Years.

Speaking of imagination, for a King adaptation, the imagination is in pretty short supply. Director Tommy Lee Wallace has worked with John Carpenter on some classics, but his films as a director (Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Fright Night 2) often show little to no visual flair. A story like this, one that’s as epic as they come and one that’s been stripped of so much by being a made-for TV event NEEDS to make up for those shortcomings by being special in other ways.

While the cast is good, there’s none of Hollywood’s finest on display. This was done four years before The Stand proved that a miniseries based on King could be mega successful, so Wallace’s laid back style keeps the film a little more close to TV fare than the author’s work deserves.

There are moments where you can sense the dread, but a little more creative use of the frame would have made a huge difference. A slight change in blocking, a little less lingering in a scene, something small that could tell the story more fluidly.

However, it’s not meant to be. As a result, Stephen King’s IT serves as a compromised film. On one hand, it’s a pretty solidly acted little tale and one that does a good job of capturing some of the pivotal emotional issues from the book (though the scene of abuse towards the Annette O’Toole character is nowhere near as brutal as the book), and on the other it’s a horror film that’s not all that scary. In its defense... it does have its moments.

Balloons that burst blood in people’s faces isn’t something you see every day, nor is "deadlights" that drag kids off into the night, and I can count on one hand the amount of times a loved one has suddenly transformed into a beast of despair and hatred.

"Yes, I have a question. Did any of you guys order Brightscalp the Clown?"

The actors are mostly all on their game, with John Ritter and Brandon Crane being my favorite of the older/younger combos. Playing the hopefully romantic fat kid Ben, they both serve as the film’s heart and soul even though they’re not the main character. Normally, I can do without Ritter but he’s extremely solid here. Tim Reid also does a solid job as Mike Hanlon, the only black member of the "Loser’s Club" and the man who brings the friends back together. He carries the group’s weariness as the only adult who stayed behind in Derry, and not coincidentally the only one who didn’t become a success in life. Solid support is also provided by future Ginger Snaps star Emily Perkins and Annette O’Tool as the young and old Beverly Marsh, as well as Seth Green who was already six years into his acting career way back in 1990!

I think the film loses a little steam by having Harry Anderson playing the adult Richie (the Seth Green role) because he just doesn’t have that bite and uncanny feeling of the master entertainer that the role demanded. It’s a Robin Williams role, a Robert Downey Jr. role... a part that has to offset the incredible sadness of the story with incredible energy and buoyancy, and Anderson’s just too much of an acting featherweight to pull it off.

A look at the only remaining prop from the canceled David Cronenberg’s Chicken Run.

Dennis Christopher and Richard Thomas are both fine, but a little bland in their roles as two of the most important members of the gang and Argentinean actress Olivia Hussey does absolutely NOTHING to make her character come to life. That’s a sad truth, since her character is vital to keeping the film’s lead character from losing it.

I felt myself wondering why he even cared for her, and why he’d risk his life to save her when the ideal emotion should be empathy.

While I am a cold bastard, some of the fault has to go with the casting decisions.

Jonathan Brandis reacts to the cold truth that he ranks fifteen spots behind Al Leong on the Hollywood power rankings.

In a perfect world, this film will get remade with a 70 million dollar budget and a studio would allow a three plus hour running time, but not only is the world imperfect... we’re talking about an industry that allows films like Sometimes They Come Back For Fried Shrimp while Bag of Bones goes unfilmed.

6.0 out of 10

"Baby, you ain’t banged a super spy until you’ve had a piece of ScarLip."

The Look

This is not one of the better looking films even under the most optimum conditions. It’s just... drab.

With that in mind, I still was awfully excited about seeing the film in widescreen. Often, when TV is the only medium you’ve ever seen a film in, the whole widescreen issue is irrelevant.

Not here. It does seem a bit fresher and genuine like this, and I can’t hate it for that. Bland, but crisp and not unholy.

7.5 out of 10

Claude was so jazzed about adding a new member to The Nation’s Punched™ that he Jacob’s Laddered halfway across the dining room.

The Noise

Is poor too strong a word?

The music for the film is rather dated, and after having the main menu on for a few minutes I wanted to jump into the street and beg for a semi to plow into me like Gage in Pet Sematary. It’s that annoying.

Regardless, while there’s nothing really wrong with a Dolby 2.0 audio presentation, I’m too spoiled by better discs to accept it.

Not a great presentation, not even a really GOOD one.

From the ad: The Frigidaire 6500E is the perfect place for your milk and eggs as well as the eternally grateful headspace of Dick Masur.

5.0 out of 10

While Chan Hyung-Chin never got Chinese restaurants to buy into his Fortune Eye© idea, his Whopper® and a side of M.U.S.C.L.E. figures patent was right around the corner.

The Goodies

There is only one "goodie", but it’s a good one.

Four of the film’s stars found time in their schedules (which are probably not all that stacked, aside from Ritter’s) to spend the three hours of the film’s running time talking about the shoot, their connection to the book and story, and life in general. Additionally, the director/co-writer and the producer (who’s not mentioned on the special features summary, a snub and a half!) are there offering pearls from their own track (recorded separately from the actors).

It’s not only engaging, but awfully entertaining.

Regardless of how effective or ineffective the finished product is, they really seemed to pour themselves into the work and found the experience to be an enriching one.

They also have a good rapport even twelve years later and it’s the commentary track that helps ease the pain about some other aspects of the disc. I honestly think anyone who calls themselves a King fan or a fan of the novel to at least rent this sucker for a listen.

Aside from the track, the special features are as nonexistent as the Nick Nunziata fan club.

"I’d love to help you with the dishes but I believe I’ve traded eyes with Deepstar Six."

8.0 out of 10

"I’m aghast that you don’t know how to calculate the speed of a taco through bowels at 12,000 feet above sea level."

BUY IT! Please?

The Artwork

I like it.

Simple and effective, though the image of the little paper boat heading down the gutter towards a scaled claw is tough to beat.

I think the goal with the marketing was to make Pennywise an indentifiable villain like a Freddy or Jason, so the clown motif makes sense. It didn’t happen, but this DVD could have been a lot uglier.

7.0 out of 10

THE FLICK: 6.0
THE LOOK: 7.5
THE NOISE: 5.0
THE GOODIES: 8.0
THE ARTWORK: 7.0
OVERALL: 6.8