Broken Frontier

Daniel Clowes’s comic book Eightball first appeared in 1989 to some critical acclaim. As part of the “Alternative Comics” movement of the period, Clowes, among many other great sequential artists, opened up the floodgates for creative work in a medium often associated with trashy children’s stories. The early issues of Eightball, outside of the recurring features like Ghost World, Pussey and Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, were a hit and run send-up of subjects as varied as sports fans, bible-thumping Christians, fashionistas, and the current comic trend of warts-and-all autobiographical graphic novels. These short pieces were like a modern take on the 1950s Kurtzman Mad satires filtered through a post-underground sensibility; in short, Clowes could take any subject and draw it out in the vilest terms.

Of these short pieces, perhaps one of angriest was called Art School Confidential, a three page venting of Clowes’ vitriol about the time and money he wasted “training” at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. In the short, Clowes lampoons all of the clichéd figures of his experience: the bitter teachers and misguided and talent-less students that accented the living hell of the art school experience. Oddly enough, the short comic was popular enough that it inspired a porn-movie released in 2004: Art School Sluts.

Over a decade after the original short comic, Clowes re-teamed with film director Terry Zwigoff (director of Bad Santa and the Ghost World film adaptation, a cult hit in its own right) to create a new film based on Art School Confidential. The duo had the deck stacked against them, since the original piece has neither a discernible main character nor a plot of any kind. Essentially, the short is a list of complaints and observations about the educational art life, told with a hilarious crudity. While it makes for a compelling read, it didn’t necessarily have the ready ingredients for a successful feature film.

“It’s pathetic. No offense.”

The first challenge was to create a somewhat relatable main character. Clowes succeeds well with Jerome Platz (winningly played by Max Minghella), a naive suburban boy, newly dropped into the well of hopelessness that is the Strathmore Institute. Jerome has a softer touch than the mean-spirited narrator of the Art School Confidential comic. As heroes will, he came to the Institute not only in the quest to become the greatest artist since Picasso, only to find himself in the midst of a bevy of sex-obsessed losers, emotionally unstable freshmen and pompous or drunken alumni, and mostly uncaring teachers. Beside the human obstacles is the Strathmore Strangler, a campus serial killer. This seemingly meaningless background character is an interesting element exclusive to the film. It adds weight to the film, though apparently out of place in a comedy. There are no real moments of terror in the film, nor does it seem that any were intended.

“I presume you’re joking, right?”

Clowes’ take on adapting the short work to the silver screen required another adjustment. The kind of snappy one liners used in the comics short would seem to prove ineffective in a feature film. Instead of the call-it-like-he-saw-it nature of the comic, Clowes and Zwigoff rely on sight gags and humorous asides. Still, this isn’t a typical summer movie. It seems that the peppiness of the film is counterbalanced with a tinge of depression.

“All of humanity is too stupid to live.”

Another element of Jerome’s journey is the chase for a beautiful young model named Audrey (played by Sophia Myles) who is the girl of his dreams. Set against Jerome is Professor Sandy Sandiford (John Malkovich), a charlatan of a drawing professor whose approval Jerome desperately craves. Anjelica Huston turns out a briefly sparkling performance as Jerome’s art history professor and Steve Buscemi plays Broadway Bob, embittered owner of the local gallery that is the launch pad for all the successful grads of the Strathmore Institute. None of the supporting players really get much of a chance to shine. As they’re all written to be mostly unlikable, this comes as no surprise. 

The direction by Terry Zwigoff comes off a bit stiff. There are moments of cleverness in the staging, but the performances and the action never seems to rise above the script. Visually, the film is quite dull, but the plot keeps moving, and there are plenty of chuckles along the way.

“Just look at me now!”

All in all, Art School Confidential has the potential to be another cult hit like its predecessor Ghost World. The appeal of the film is a bit more complex than may be readily apparent to the average movie-goer. There are laughs to be had and an interestingly layered story, but it may be a bit odd for the popcorn movie crowd. That said, long term fans of Eightball and Clowes might be happy to view this again and again.