I Like Killing Flies
by Matt Mahurin
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Actor: Calvin Trillin, Eve Shopsin, John A. Papa, Kenny Shopsin, Michael FishmanDirector: Matt Mahurin
Brand: New Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 79 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Docurama Films
DVD Reviews of I Like Killing Flies
DVD Review: All Our Cooks Wear Condoms
Summary: 2 Stars
This film had the makings of something I could really like. I've been in food service since the day I started working (Dairy Queen to Blimpies to Oren's Daily Roast) so I know this scene even if I have never done the restaurant thing. Plus I like documentaries, I'm a sucker for the pontifications of people who think they are smart, and I like movies made with no budget. And yet I didn't like this one. Director Matt Mahurin follows Kenny Shopsin around his Greenwich Village eatery Shopsins as he fights with his landlord until he eventually gives up and moves down the street. Mostly though Mahurin relies upon Shopsin's need to be a real a-hole and give his opinion on every matter of his life to carry the film past the finish line. However, it turns out that just because Shopsin is bigger than life doesn't mean that his personality is. Not that he isn't amusing at times. Looking like Michael Moore's impression of an aging member of KISS his views on customer service are not in line with mainstream America. . .in fact he has no problem kicking you out for no reason at all. If you are a party of five, or not a regular customer, or just want a cup of coffee he will kick you to the curb and not even pretend to be nice about it. I would also have to agree with him when he calls his philosophy "half-baked." After roaming around his kitchen for a while hunting flies he remarks on how the whole experience is existential. Huh? He'll also go off about the ways in which he runs his kitchen and views the world and none of it really makes any sense. Mercifully at the very end he makes a decent point, saying that outgrowing your expectation that you are a good person is healthy and productive because in reality you aren't. And to try and maintain the mirage that you are a nice person only serves to make your life more difficult.
My feelings on Shopsin were fairly mixed by the time the film had ended. On one hand there are my ideas about society, about how New York sells out more and more every year. And how these greedy landlords (like the one in this film) perpetrate that problem by squeezing out little guys like Shopsin. Poor Kenny is stuck working night and day just to stay afloat, meanwhile Outback Steakhouse has millions of excess dollars that they can pour into the Bush campaign. So yes, in that respect he is a good guy fighting the good fight. On the other hand, there is probably no excuse for him treating people the way he does. Yes, I know he knows that he is a bad person, but constantly berating his employees who are clearly working hard for him is a major turn off. I appreciate the straight talk but the way he goes for the jug on the totally unsuspecting is, in my book, out of line. The film itself is a snooze I'm afraid and feels every bit as amateurish as it is. The cinematography is no more advanced than point and click. We also get real tacky visuals such as the cameraman holding up a tiny mic so that Shopsin can blabber his way into Lala Land. Even worse is when we move away from his rants. As it is watching a fat guy shop for vegetables is not cinematic magic. . .it's not even ironic. And the scenes in which we watch them move from one location to the next just reminded me of every endlessly monotonous chore I've ever done and it turned the film into a real downer. I suppose the film could be a hit for those of you who like trashy reality TV where we lavish attention upon someone simply because they are eccentric and/or mean. To me this film was a massive miss. **1/4
Description of I Like Killing Flies
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