Schizopolis (1996)

Schizopolis: Directed by Steven Soderbergh. With Scott Allen, Betsy Brantley, Marcus Lyle Brown, Silas Cooper. Fletcher Munson, the lethargic employee of a pseudo-religious self help company, and his doppelganger, the friendly but dull dentist Dr. Jeffrey Korchek.

“I watched this movie for the first time a couple of months ago. I had to watch it twice because I didnu0026#39;t get the way everything fit together in the plot the first time. My impression at first was that this was a really funny satire of certain aspects of American (or just modern) society: People turning to self-help gurus for solutions to their problems, political conspiracy theories, the blandness of working in an office, the strangeness of dentists, the meaninglessness of everyday conversation/communication rituals such as u0026quot;How are you?u0026quot;. In these first two viewings, I laughed frequently at the way Soderberg was poking fun at modern life. Really funny to me is Soderbergu0026#39;s low-key sarcastic tone. I definitely have shared similar feelings to him in my everday life. In addition, I enjoyed the cut-up style connected disjointedness of the filmu0026#39;s plot. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enBut then I watched the film a third time with a friend and he laughed maybe one time during the whole movie. And after the movie ended, he told me he just didnu0026#39;t u0026quot;getu0026quot; some of the things Soderberg was trying to satirze. This made me reconsider the film, so I watched it a forth time and in doing so, I just found it more cyncial and not as funny. u0026quot;Tiresomeu0026quot; is a word that comes to mind. Perhaps this film just plays better if one is in a cynical mood. Regardless, there are still several quotes from Schizopolis that I have incorporated into my daily life so that I can become a better person in a T. Azimuth Switters type of way: u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Be true to your teeth and they wonu0026#39;t be false to you.u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enu0026quot;I am Republican when it comes to most issues, but Iu0026#39;m a Democrat when it comes to gum control.u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Generic greeting!u0026quot; u0026quot;Generic greeting returned!u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;I really enjoy having sex with your wife. Sheu0026#39;s got a great ass.u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enu0026quot;When I married her, she was like a blimp. But now she just keeps getting thinner and thinner. Itu0026#39;s terrible.u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Dear Attractive Woman #2…I would love to have you standing near me, or beside me, or on top of me so I could watch you shake.u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enOverall, I think this film is well worth a watch. Even on repeated viewings, it delivers some humorous goods.”