Falling Down (1993) isn't a comedy?

Nukie 2 · March 21, 2010, 12:52:08 PM

So from that racist films thread I saw Falling Down on there, then looked on IMDB and discovered it wasn't classified as a comedy

!

Come on, it about a wormy guy who goes nuts! It's ridiculous!

Nukie 2 · March 21, 2010, 12:56:49 PM

Every time I watch it and see Douglas walking around, I think of the Proclaimers "I Would 500 Miles".

Sleepyskull · March 21, 2010, 01:05:15 PM

I think of it as a grim comedy with some serious elements.

It's a great movie!

Jack · March 21, 2010, 02:25:36 PM

I definitely thought it was a dark comedy. Or a drama with a lot of dark comedy elements.

retrorussell · March 21, 2010, 04:12:35 PM

I loved how he went nuts in the restaurant with an uzi because the burger in the picture didn't look like the one you get.

Olivia Bauer · March 21, 2010, 04:37:45 PM

Quote from: retrorussell on March 21, 2010, 04:12:35 PM
I loved how he went nuts in the restaurant with an uzi because the burger in the picture didn't look like the one you get.

I never saw the movie, but I saw that scene. Wasn't there also a scene where he shoots a golf cart and causes an old man to have a heart attack?

retrorussell · March 21, 2010, 07:46:54 PM

Oh yeah.. I forgot about that scene and just read about it now. Michael Douglas' character walks onto a golf course and an old guy hits a ball in his direction. Douglas shoots the cart, knocking it into the water. The old guy has a heart attack and needs medication, which is on the cart. Douglas just walks off.

Mr. DS · March 21, 2010, 08:46:44 PM

I don't know about "comedy" 100%. As Jack said, probably a dark comedy especially based around our society. It find it is more of a thinking man's film.

What I love about this movie is yeah, Douglas is the villain but is he without point? He calls out big food chains for false advertising, rude old men on golf courses, contruction crews trying to justify their overinflated budgets, young hoodlums, etc. He is very much an urban vigilante like Charles Bronson in Death Wish. Yet he seems to be a loving father to his daughter and extremely intelligent. In other words, it questions the notion "is taking the law into your own hands better than the established method". I've always enjoyed a film that pushes the envelope of gray areas of philosopical thought like that. As D-fens questions at the end, "I'm the bad guy".

I should point out Robert Duvall's character is an interesting contrast to Douglas's as well. Here is a guy who has seen many hardships in his life yet he still follows society's norms when it comes to law enforcement. In other words, he could have become D-fens but knew he had to draw the line.

Awesome film, saw it in the theater I'm proud to say.

Psycho Circus · March 22, 2010, 06:56:49 AM

I love Falling Down, and I believe the D-Fens role to be the best of Michael Douglas's career. Actually he was probably more deserving of an academy award for that film, than for his 3 or 4 bits of dialogue as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. I don't see Falling Down as a comedy, but it does make me laugh quite a bit in certain scenes. I think it's due to the intensity of each situation and the extremes his character can be pushed to by people from all walks of life. I find I can relate to Falling Down a bit too much, which is probably very unhealthy...

Oh, and it's not a racist "film" either. Just a film that contains a "character" with racist views, which unfortunately some people still hold in the real world.

Nukie 2 · March 22, 2010, 09:26:16 AM

I don't think it's racist. The only racist character was the Nazi military store guy.

Cthulhu · March 22, 2010, 12:46:51 PM

Quote from: Nukie 2 on March 22, 2010, 09:26:16 AM
I don't think it's racist. The only racist character was the Nazi military store guy.

Exactly.

Flick James · March 22, 2010, 12:49:32 PM

I've always thought it was a semi-comedy. It just has too many funny moments, like him running after the gang-banger screaming "You forgot the briefcase!" Not a great film, but I've always enjoyed watching it.

The film does have a message. The message is that vigilante justice is not okay in a free society, no matter how f***ed up you think society is. Also, it also makes a pretty strong statement that vigilantes tend to be a bit unbalanced.

akiratubo · March 22, 2010, 01:53:58 PM

No, it's just a bad movie.

Flick James · March 22, 2010, 04:17:38 PM

Quote from: akiratubo on March 22, 2010, 01:53:58 PM
No, it's just a bad movie.

How appropriate then that it should be discussed on "Badmovies.org."

WingedSerpent · March 23, 2010, 06:32:04 PM

I never thought of it that way, but I could see it as some sort of dark comedy.