JCVD

[wbassett]

Jean-Claude Van Damme
Can I go to the restroom please?

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Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Directors: Mabrouk El Mechri
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Language: English, French
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 1
Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Peace Arch Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: April 28, 2009
Run Time: 97 minutes





J.C.V.D – Jean-Claude Van Damme returns to his home town in Brussels for some much needed rest after losing his daughter in a lengthy custody battle. His career is all but over. He’s broke, and just lost a role in a movie meant to resurrect his career to Steven Seagal- Seems Jean-Claude’s age is catching up with him and he can’t do his stunt scenes all in one take like he used to. That and Seagal promised to cut off his pony tail for the role…

No this isn’t a biography on Jean-Claude Van Damme, rather it’s a unique movie that parodies reality with the action genre.

Fun Facts: Jean-Claude Van Damme actually has a son, but it was to changed in the movie to a daughter for legal reasons.

The movie starts with Van Damme filming an action flick, and having a hard time with the stunts. It’s actually a pretty good opening and a better fight scene than in most if not all of his other movies. I really wouldn’t mind seeing this movie! Except it doesn’t exist because this is just a scene for JCVD.

Fun Fact: In the opening intro scene, Jean-Claude Van Damme's comment about not being able to film in one shot was his own ad-lib, partly in response to Mabrouk El Mechri actually wanting to shoot the scene in one shot.

Van Damme is obviously trying to reinvent himself but at the same time coyly nod and wink that even though his character in the movie complains about his age and all the stunt work, he obviously can still pull it off in real life. Life imitating art imitating life.

The movie can be a little hard to follow because most it is in French and subtitled. It is however a very interesting premise and I don’t believe I have ever seen a movie quite like this. Some may say Van Damme has dropped to his lowest with this film, but as I mentioned it is the most unique concept I have seen.

The movie itself isn’t that great but it has picked up quite a cult following. If it wasn’t for the novelty I doubt many would watch it, but then again… this is all about the novelty and how some of the scenes seem like they were lifted from Van Damme’s real life. It’s almost like Van Damme is sending a message about the industry and how it can turn a person’s life upside down. The heist is just the flavor and seasoning that prevents this from being a biographical pity party. If it was just that, then it would be unwatchable. After all, who really cares about a spoiled actor that threw his career away with bad movie choices, carelessness on his sets that resulted in serious injuries to others and expensive lawsuits, and then coked away most of his money. Not exactly a sympathetic story, more like, well… what you’d see on the Biography Channel.

For the most part this was made for his fans in France. It went straight to video here in the states, and not even top shelf. I just picked it up for $12

It is filmed in 2.35:1 wide screen with a 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track, but the sound doesn’t quite live up to Hollywood big screen block buster standards.

Video looks good. It is also available on Bluray, which did surprise me since this isn’t exactly a mainstream type movie. It has a good look though on SDVD, with just enough film grain to say this wasn’t shot on video, but not so much that it looks like poor film stock.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the surround channels and bass. The opening scene sounds good, but it’s like they spent all their budget on that.

The movie intertwines the fictitious heist with flash backs of events in Van Damme’s ‘life’ that lead up to his involvement in the robbery. I won’t reveal anything more than that because it is a fun premise and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone that does decide to pick this one up.

Overall I rate it for the fun factor and pulling off something different and as unique as this. The actual plot and story are more like a solid though. Like I said, it’s the novelty that is the appeal, the actual story is just the McGuffin.

Sound is also

Special features are sparse. There are some deleted scenes, and a trailer and a low resolution digital copy (don’t even waste your time with it unless you want to watch it on an iPhone or something).

For $12 you won’t break the bank, or as a rental this is a fun concept. It’s not something that I would watch over and over again though.

Art imitating life or life imitating art? You decide!

This is actually in the movie... I pose the question though, is he acting here or looking back on his real life and realizing it didn't exactly turn out the way he thought it would? He's either a genius and a better actor than anyone ever gave him credit for... or he's a genius for making a movie that is both a parody as well as a somewhat biography of his life. At one time Jean-Claude had the world in his hand. He was the next mega action star... and then something went horribly wrong. Was it him? Was it the industry? I think it may have been a little of both.

Still, this scene (which looks much better in the actual movie) is probably one of the most real things I have seen any actor put on film. Probably because this isn't scripted. According to Mabrouk El Mechri in a Q&A on the Toronto International Film Festival, about 70% of the film was scripted, and the other 30% was improvised from the actors. This seems to be one of those improvised scenes.

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JCVD is either a master piece of inventiveness... or a very sad tale. Either way, the first time through you'll be not only watching, but maybe even rewinding to catch what he is saying because it's not the plot or action that is the attraction... it's how close to reality this really is.

[SteveCallas]

Just watched it tonight - excellent movie. I may be biased because I'm a JCVD fan, but this one kept me entertained throughout.

[steverc]

I am not a fan by any stretch but I liked this movie quite a lot and have added it to my collection.