The antichrist is served
Watch Suing the devil is witnessing the birth of a cult classic. Remember my words: someday you will see him in theaters at midnight, and people, in all likelihood dressed as their favorite characters, will wait in line to see him just for the dizzying thrill of teasing him mercilessly. Here’s a movie so flimsy in its premise, so poorly written, and so poorly acted that it reaches a wicked level of hilarity. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard at a movie that it clearly wasn’t meant to be funny. The more I think about it, the more amazing it becomes that it was released, and before that take, and before it was written, and before it was conceived. If John JB Wilson is the diligent movie buff he seems to be, he’ll be very busy at next year’s Razzie Awards.
This movie has to be seen to be believed. It tells the story of an Australian salesman named Luke O’Brien (Bart Bronson), who decided to take a new direction and began studying law at a night school. He is a born-again Christian who became discouraged after his mother was killed by a drunk driver. Driven by his death and by the evils that plague the world today, he decides to sue Satan for $ 8 billion. Miraculously (no pun intended), the lawsuit he brings is not dismissed, and before long, Satan (Malcolm McDowell) himself struts around the courtroom dressed in a black shirt, black sports jacket, and sunglasses. sun, behind which are eyes that may turn yellow. You are not alone; With him is an entourage of lawyers, all of whom he handpicked not only for representing ruthless and greedy corporations like Big Oil and Tobacco, but also for being heartless and greedy themselves.
The trial itself is a ridiculous series of cartoons so riddled with loopholes and technicalities that it’s a wonder it didn’t stop after day one. The judge (Roslyn Gentle) pronounces each line like a nervous babysitter scolding the children for not finishing dinner. His favorite word is “invalidated”, and although I am not a lawyer, I do not think he is allowed to use it when the defense makes what appear to be legitimate objections. She is also an authority on yelling at people for making outbursts in her courtroom, and oh how she loves her gavel. For the most part, it is shot at low angles directly in front of your desk, perhaps in an effort to make it look more imposing. During one of these shots, he slams his mallet, only to have it fall off the desk and out of the camera’s line of sight. Before moving on to a new scene, he turns and gazes blankly in the direction in which he fell. A discarded take that was foolishly left in the final cut or a tense moment planned?
The trial turns into a worldwide media frenzy, and a political debate show, in which one of the commentators is Tom Sizemore, continually weighs on the issue. Meanwhile, the godly O’Brien repeatedly calls witnesses to the stand, mostly pastors, in an effort to prove that Satan is who he claims to be, something the defense is trying to disprove. In a pathetic effort to add drama to the story, writer-director Tim Chey has added a subplot in which O’Brien’s wife, Gwen (Shannen Fields), is found to be suffering from cancer. She has been seen coughing repeatedly, a sound that is often accompanied by melodramatic piano music. When O’Brien confronts her and they both start crying, the scene had the exact opposite effect on me. I suspect it will be the same for most audiences, even religious ones, because religious people also go to the movies, and just like non-religious people, they appreciate good performances.
With the exception of McDowell, who has had a long and relatively distinguished career, all of the actors in this film give performances that would not do well in an amateur high school production. Topping that list Bronson. Someone should sit him down, hold his hand, and tell him as lovingly as possible that he is not an actor and should consider a new line of work. The same can be said for Kenny Epps, who plays Mr. Innocent, one of the many lawyers with ironic names who represent Satan; fakes a southern accent so blatantly fake it can outrage and offend all populations in the southern United States. He doesn’t even seem to have fun with his role, which I think would have helped a lot.
The only one who seems to be having fun is McDowell, probably because, as a professional actor, he was the only one with enough common sense not to take the movie seriously. That still raises some questions, namely why you agreed to participate and how you could share the credit as one of the producers. Exactly what it was about Suing the devil What inspired you to fund it? I am not looking at this from a religious angle; frankly, I don’t know what your religious beliefs are. But surely he must have been aware of how incompetent this project was. Only a movie like this would truly end with a plot twist, and not just any plot twist, but possibly the most infuriating escapades in storytelling lore history. You probably think you’ve seen bad movies before. Let me assure you that until you see this movie, you have no idea how bad it is.