| There's Something About "Mr. Brooks" |
|
|
Mr. Brooksdirected by Bruce A. Evansstarring Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Demi Moore, Dane Cook   Danielle Panabaker, Kevin Costner, and Marg Helgenberger in "Mr. Brooks."  William Hurt as Marshall and Kevin Costner as Mr. Earl Brooks in "Mr. Brooks."  Danielle Panabaker as Jane Brooks in "Mr. Brooks."  Dane Cook as Mr. Smith and Demi Moore as detective Tracy Atwood in "Mr. Brooks." Whenever Costner is mentioned in casual conversation, the temptation to bring up a seemingly endless list of failures gets the better of even the most diehard fan of his signature dour expression, and films like "Waterworld" and "The Postman" erase memories of "Field of Dreams" and "Thirteen Days" all too quickly. While part of the reason for this undeniably freakish phenomenon is the public’s selective short-term memory, it’s more likely because it hurts to watch someone we trust do exactly what we wish he wouldn’t, over and over again. Enter "Mr. Brooks," Costner’s latest clunker about Earl Brooks, a well-regarded businessman who has a nasty habit of murdering complete strangers. Brooks could just as easily be a stand-in for Costner, not as he is, but as the public sees him--an ever-shifting onscreen persona whose fundamental character never changes: tough but fair, sympathetic, and weathered. Brooks is the stern patriarch of his family but despite his calmly assured appearance, he hides a split personality (played by William Hurt) that leads him to do what he knows, and we know, is not right. We want Brooks to repent as much as he does, hinting to the audience that he may have subconsciously intended his latest murder to give him away and stop his bloody reign of terror forever. No matter how bad the rest of the movie gets, we can’t help but look on in horror as Costner goes through the motions of yet another ill-fated, pretentious serial thriller with a twist. Signs of disaster are everywhere, from director Bruce A. Evans (who previously co-wrote the script for "Jungle 2 Jungle") to co-stars, Demi Moore, whose spiral of diminishing returns rivals Costner’s and Dane Cook, the original "king of comedy." No, I am not joking; Cook plays “Mr. Smith,” an idle mechanical engineer who witnesses Mr. Brooks’ latest murder and wants to be with Brooks when he kills again. With a bright but hotheaded detective (Moore), who has her own issues to sort out, hot on his trail and his prodigal daughter hiding a big secret, Brooks must placate his personal demons lest he watch himself lose the one thing every clichéd serial killer hates to lose: control. The film’s biggest problem, other than the dull, criss-crossing storylines and the pretentious stock dialogue, is its definition of Brooks as an addict. Brooks sees “Smith” as an impulsive loose-end, dismissing his desire to be complicit in murder as less serious because of his lack of respect for the act. "Smith" gets too much of a rush from it and is nothing more than a wannabe as opposed to Brooks who claims he doesn’t want to kill—though more than once it comes out that killing gives both Brooks and his alter ego pleasure. While it’s fun to watch Dane Cook insulted backhandedly—Brooks’ alter-ego delivers a hilarious comment about how even if Cook were handsome and funny, he still wouldn’t like him—it’s maddeningly simplistic to dismiss his goofball attitude as harmless while Brooks’ methodical and suave approach to murder makes addiction look serious. The film’s inability to be taken seriously leads back to this basic flaw and to the question as to why Brooks (or Costner?) must kill. That's never really answered. If one had to guess, perhaps Costner’s affection for westerns is to blame. His love for the genre, which led him to direct and star in "Open Range," suggests an affection for moral dramas whose shades of grey are resolved in simplistic terms of black and white. On the other hand, Costner may just be addicted to crap. |
