So far, the Showtime original series, Masters of Horror has been - by turns - relentlessly scary (Don Coscarelli's show), ridiculous (Stuart Gordon's Lovecraft contribution), and grimly nihilistic (Tobe Hooper's Matheson adaptation). With the addition of producer Mick Garris's episode, "Chocolate," (adapted by Garris from his own short story), I guess you can add "middling" to that laundry list of adjectives.
Garris is extremely fortunate to have cast the talented Henry Thomas - once Elliot in E.T. (1982) - in this segment, because this fine, believable actor holds our attention well, and his sincerity and "obsessions" are convincingly played. Without his outstanding efforts, I don't really know that the story would amount to much...
Here's the skinny: Jamie (Thomas) is a divorced chemist at the Cougar Chemical Flavor Company, where he works alongside an aging, baby-boomer scientist and wanna-be rock-and-roller, Wally (Matt Frewer). One day, out of the blue, Jamie begins to experience bizarre "spells." These sensory distortions put him inside the head of another person, far away. He comes to learn over time, as he experiences more and more of these spells, that he is feeling the internal life of a woman in Vancouver, Catherine Du Pres.
During one such spell, Jamie opens his eyes and sees - and feels - Catherine's boyfriend (a kinky artistic-longhair-type) nailing her. Later, when Catherine masturbates in the bath tub, Jamie feels that too. (Note: I liked all this stuff...It was daring and interesting.)
The next flash of psychic insight is less pleasant. Jamie witnesses Catherine stabbing her boyfriend in the chest, after he has struck her (following an argument over a menage-a-trois). Jamie feels certain the murderous act is one of self-defense and decides to throw caution to the wind. He meets Catherine in Vancouver, confesses his love (and his psychic link...), only to learn he's encountered a true femme fatale.
There's a lot of good stuff in this episode. "Chocolate" features several really kinky moments, and again, the segment is fortunate to have an actor as skilled as Thomas vetting the material. With someone less-skilled, some of these moments might have come across as funny instead of erotic.
But my problem with "Chocolate" is that - like a few of the other segments - it would work far better at thirty minutes than it does now, at a whopping sixty. It practically takes forever for this story to get started, and the audience must countenance boring scenes of "domestic drama." Jamie confronts an empty refrigerator. Jamie goes to a night club and listens to Wally's band. Jamie goes over to see his estranged ex-wife and young son at his old house. Later, we see him at a grocery store picking up a sexy young thing, and bedding her - and admittedly, that's quite sexy. But ultimately, not a one of these moments has a punch-line or plays into the episode's denouement...which occurs in another country, another city. The scenes about Jamie's loneliness and attempts to re-connect with his son (and the grocery girl store) are dropped like hot potatoes once Catherine enters the picture, and so contribute nothing of value to the overall story. Matt Frewer doesn't even get a valedictory scene. His character is entirely coincidental to the plot.
Yep, this episode is muddled and as well as middling. It's never clear, for instance, if the psychic link goes both ways. Near the climax, when Catherine drugs Jamie, she claims it is indeed a two-way link, and that she has felt what he feels too. But we're never sure if this is just a "lure" to kill him, or the truth. If it is the truth, then why doesn't she trust him? Why try to kill him?
Finally, this episode makes the claim that it is about love. It opens with Jamie, following his murder of Catherine, recounting his whole story to the police - film noir style - and he asks the audience, looking directly at the camera, "Have you ever been in love? Really in love?"
To which I reply, love is a two-way street, buddy. Hate to tell you this, but you had an infatuation. Nothing more. Even the scenes of Jamie experiencing sexual pleasure through Catherine's body are indicative of lust, not love. Were it indeed love, we should have seen some scenes indicating that Jamie was experiencing Catherine's emotional states, not just the revving of her sexual engine. He should have felt things like regret, fear, longing, isolation, desperation, and adrenaline. Those are the emotions pursuant to love. So really, "Chocolate" doesn't ring true, and doesn't get much right in terms of its narrative. It isn't really about love. It's about misguided obsession.
And really, if I were Jamie, I would have stuck with the really hot chick he met in the grocery store. She shared his love of junk food, and slept with him on the first date! But she was also adorable and sweet, and all together a better person than Catherine. Perhaps that was the point, that the disconcerting hallucination spells only served to lead Jamie astray?
But if that were indeed the thematic point of "Chocolate", there should have been an "ah ha" moment, wherein Jamie realized how wrongheaded he had been. When he went back to his home and re-connected with his pseudo-girlfriend. And when he made things right with his son.
Instead, those plotlines are just left hanging in the air, dangling forever, like the scent of...well, chocolate...
Garris is extremely fortunate to have cast the talented Henry Thomas - once Elliot in E.T. (1982) - in this segment, because this fine, believable actor holds our attention well, and his sincerity and "obsessions" are convincingly played. Without his outstanding efforts, I don't really know that the story would amount to much...
Here's the skinny: Jamie (Thomas) is a divorced chemist at the Cougar Chemical Flavor Company, where he works alongside an aging, baby-boomer scientist and wanna-be rock-and-roller, Wally (Matt Frewer). One day, out of the blue, Jamie begins to experience bizarre "spells." These sensory distortions put him inside the head of another person, far away. He comes to learn over time, as he experiences more and more of these spells, that he is feeling the internal life of a woman in Vancouver, Catherine Du Pres.
During one such spell, Jamie opens his eyes and sees - and feels - Catherine's boyfriend (a kinky artistic-longhair-type) nailing her. Later, when Catherine masturbates in the bath tub, Jamie feels that too. (Note: I liked all this stuff...It was daring and interesting.)
The next flash of psychic insight is less pleasant. Jamie witnesses Catherine stabbing her boyfriend in the chest, after he has struck her (following an argument over a menage-a-trois). Jamie feels certain the murderous act is one of self-defense and decides to throw caution to the wind. He meets Catherine in Vancouver, confesses his love (and his psychic link...), only to learn he's encountered a true femme fatale.
There's a lot of good stuff in this episode. "Chocolate" features several really kinky moments, and again, the segment is fortunate to have an actor as skilled as Thomas vetting the material. With someone less-skilled, some of these moments might have come across as funny instead of erotic.
But my problem with "Chocolate" is that - like a few of the other segments - it would work far better at thirty minutes than it does now, at a whopping sixty. It practically takes forever for this story to get started, and the audience must countenance boring scenes of "domestic drama." Jamie confronts an empty refrigerator. Jamie goes to a night club and listens to Wally's band. Jamie goes over to see his estranged ex-wife and young son at his old house. Later, we see him at a grocery store picking up a sexy young thing, and bedding her - and admittedly, that's quite sexy. But ultimately, not a one of these moments has a punch-line or plays into the episode's denouement...which occurs in another country, another city. The scenes about Jamie's loneliness and attempts to re-connect with his son (and the grocery girl store) are dropped like hot potatoes once Catherine enters the picture, and so contribute nothing of value to the overall story. Matt Frewer doesn't even get a valedictory scene. His character is entirely coincidental to the plot.
Yep, this episode is muddled and as well as middling. It's never clear, for instance, if the psychic link goes both ways. Near the climax, when Catherine drugs Jamie, she claims it is indeed a two-way link, and that she has felt what he feels too. But we're never sure if this is just a "lure" to kill him, or the truth. If it is the truth, then why doesn't she trust him? Why try to kill him?
Finally, this episode makes the claim that it is about love. It opens with Jamie, following his murder of Catherine, recounting his whole story to the police - film noir style - and he asks the audience, looking directly at the camera, "Have you ever been in love? Really in love?"
To which I reply, love is a two-way street, buddy. Hate to tell you this, but you had an infatuation. Nothing more. Even the scenes of Jamie experiencing sexual pleasure through Catherine's body are indicative of lust, not love. Were it indeed love, we should have seen some scenes indicating that Jamie was experiencing Catherine's emotional states, not just the revving of her sexual engine. He should have felt things like regret, fear, longing, isolation, desperation, and adrenaline. Those are the emotions pursuant to love. So really, "Chocolate" doesn't ring true, and doesn't get much right in terms of its narrative. It isn't really about love. It's about misguided obsession.
And really, if I were Jamie, I would have stuck with the really hot chick he met in the grocery store. She shared his love of junk food, and slept with him on the first date! But she was also adorable and sweet, and all together a better person than Catherine. Perhaps that was the point, that the disconcerting hallucination spells only served to lead Jamie astray?
But if that were indeed the thematic point of "Chocolate", there should have been an "ah ha" moment, wherein Jamie realized how wrongheaded he had been. When he went back to his home and re-connected with his pseudo-girlfriend. And when he made things right with his son.
Instead, those plotlines are just left hanging in the air, dangling forever, like the scent of...well, chocolate...
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