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My Savior Makes Me Whole Again

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (25)



4_New_Stills_From_Kevin.jpg

Kevin Smith’s Red State, which will debut at Sundance next month, now has a trailer. The good news is: It doesn’t look like anything that Kevin Smith has ever made before. The bad news: It doesn’t look like anything Kevin Smith has ever done before.

Truthfully, I’m not sure what to make of it. It looks a little cheap, but then again, it was a cheap movie. But it also has a nice creepy vibe to it, and I’m somewhat convinced that John Goodman wouldn’t do a movie he didn’t have a little faith in. I mean: It’s not like he was doing Red State for the money, right? And if it’s not for the money, it has to be for the art, right? It’s logic. If you think that Goodman is a good judge of substance, it follows that Red State might be a decent movie. The other thing is: Melissa Leo is in it. Melissa Leo can make any movie good. She is a goddamn force, people. It’s not impossible, but it’d be hard to fuck up a movie with John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and Stephen Root, and a villain — a Fred Phelps type — that we’d love to hate.


(Note: This is not from the official site, because Kevin Smith’s official trailer has a weird laugh introducing the trailer, which completely ruins the mood).

Here’s a fun little irony, though: Normally, I pay to see the movies I review because I think it makes me a more honest critic; if you get something for free, my belief is that you’d be more lenient or you’d feel a tiny obligation to the people who afforded you the free viewing (that’s a personal thing because I have a guilt complex, which I understand most critics — like Prisco, clearly — are missing). Kevin Smith feels the opposite: He thinks if you get it for free, you’re more likely to shit on it, which is why he wants critics to pay to see his movies (a logic confounds me). We have a similar belief for different reasons. But, Red State is opening at Sundance, where all the major critics — and myself — are going to see it for free, which pretty much blows up in both of our faces.

So it goes.









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Comments

OhmahGawd.

Melissa Leo, yes. And Stephen Root is always amazing...

But that white-haired preacher-man you see right at the end? That's Michael Parks. He has played scary badasses in more movies than I can remember.

I didn't care a fig before I saw this trailer; now I truly can't wait to see this movie. Ah pray to Jeezus that it's as good as this trailer makes me think it is.

Posted by: Jerce at December 24, 2010 10:15 AM

another put down of faith. Ah Hell

Posted by: donna at December 24, 2010 10:42 AM

Wow. This looks kind of amazing actually. Hate-filled, religious monsters tend to either give me nightmares or make me want to commit murder/suicide in despair, so I won't be able to see this alone.

Did anybody else wonder what the fuck was happening to the unfortunate looking dude with the ball gag?

Posted by: Kaleena at December 24, 2010 10:58 AM

I know you guys need ad revenue, but the stupid trailers that play on the sidebar when I do absolutely nothing to make them start need to stop. Especially when there are two of them and I can't figure out which is playing. It's actually making me want to take some time away from this site and stop reading till it goes away, it makes me that kind of crazy.

Posted by: KatSings at December 24, 2010 11:43 AM

The Westboro Baptist Church members are Democrats.

I support exposing and exploring the mindset of hateful people, but throwing Republicans under the bus because your own prejudice makes you assume that these are their actions is no better than the people Smith wants to criticize.

Posted by: Eep at December 24, 2010 11:43 AM

I don't know all the details, but it sounds like Fred Phelps was a "democrat" in the 80s. In reality, no sane person from any political party wants to be connected with his church and their actions.

Posted by: e at December 24, 2010 12:03 PM

Dear Rowles,


Personally I don’t have anything against Kevin Smith, I mean sometimes he does seem to get in a little bit of trouble at the airport or on an airplane. But then again who among us hasn’t been kicked off of an airplane or two? It does pains me a bit to see him reduced to begging for someone to finance his next project, you would think that someone with his obvious talent should have his choice of financiers, but sadly that is not the case. I also can admire your steadfastness and belief in Kevin, it is not unlike my feelings for Tyler Perry. But one can not deny that Kevin has had advantages that Perry didn’t have. Namely, studios standing by Kevin even in the face of diminishing returns and somewhat suspect behavior away from the stresses of film making. Again I applaud your steadfastness, yours is a model to be copied surely. But I am somewhat perplexed by your reasoning when it comes to Perry. Perry didn’t receive the usual offerings that are bestowed on young film makers like Smith and Apatow, no, Perry had to earn everything he’s received. I would have thought that by now you would have noticed the empire Perry has built from his many successes in his personal and professional life. Can I dare say that maybe Smith can learn something from Perry.


On a personal note Rowles, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and that Pajiba grows bigger and stronger under your awesome leadership. You have given us a place that we can truly call home.

Posted by: Pookie at December 24, 2010 12:16 PM

On a personal note Rowles, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and that Pajiba grows bigger and stronger under your awesome leadership. You have given us a place that we can truly call home.

Thanks for that Pookie.

Posted by: superasente at December 24, 2010 12:37 PM

I'm with Silent Bob on this one: A lot of the time when you receive something for free, you are less likely to appreciate it as much as if you had paid for it. Especially something creative.

Having said that, ohboyohboyhoboy! This looks like Smith's Texas Chainsaw Massacre. With Michael Parks!

Watching this trailer feels like I'm in the beginning of a heist movie where the mastermind has just laid out the plan. And now I'm slowly looking around the room, looking down, then looking back up. And slowly saying "All right. I'm in."

Posted by: TheUpsetter at December 24, 2010 12:43 PM

this looks really good actually

Posted by: HappyGobo at December 24, 2010 4:03 PM

This thing looks awesome. I've been excited for it ever since I heard about the idea.

Posted by: Lucas at December 24, 2010 5:41 PM

I'm in. Creepy.

Posted by: ZombieMedic at December 24, 2010 11:33 PM

Yep. I'm in.

Posted by: Another Jen at December 24, 2010 11:57 PM

Eep, I think it's called Red State not so much because it's a critique of Republicans as such, more because there's a lot of blood in it. That's my read.

I'm in too, but as a Smith fanboy I already was before he rolled frame one, so that doesn't mean much. Nonetheless, I think it looks visceral, kinetic, and pretty fucking freaky.

Posted by: Arran at December 25, 2010 7:42 AM

They would have called it "Blue State", but who wants to watch a movie about kindergarten children putting condoms on bananas as their parents passionately insist that 9/11 was actually perpetrated by the Southern Baptist Convention?

Posted by: Esther Heyman at December 25, 2010 12:14 PM

Looks like a good movie actually.
(Maybe Goodman is in it because Kevin Smith makes him feel skinny?
Cheap shot, sorry, but I had to take it)

Posted by: Odnon. at December 25, 2010 1:52 PM

You do realize that John Goodman was in Coyote Ugly.

Posted by: Rob B at December 25, 2010 3:11 PM

Coyote Ugly had a budget that was about ten times the amount of Red State.

I was in since the Weinsteins passed on it for being "too bleak." I'm so excited to see Kevin try something different. Free or not, I look forward to the review.

Posted by: Uda at December 25, 2010 9:40 PM

i like kevin smith, but that was a piece of shit trailer. it screamed out "this is a movie where lots of random stuff happens but we couldn't afford a writer or camera man"

Posted by: idleprimate at December 25, 2010 11:12 PM

This was the year that my disenchantment with Kevin Smith reached its apex. I never thought it would happen. And then this trailer came out and it's the first time I've been interested in anything he does in a long time. So there's that...

Posted by: Az at December 26, 2010 9:36 PM

This trailer screams "I want to be a Coen Brother!" I doubt Smith has the chops to pull it off.

This could even be career suicide, leaving him to become the traveling side-show freak he seems to enjoy being as his career wanes.

Posted by: B-Unit at December 26, 2010 9:57 PM

How the hell did Tyler Perry even come into the conversation? I didn't see one single transvestite.

Posted by: Craig at December 26, 2010 11:32 PM

Like all Kevin Smith movies, I expect a great script, and terrible directing, seeing as how Smith is the anti-George Lucas, and this trailer indicates both my assumptions to be correct.

Posted by: Devil Child at December 27, 2010 1:30 AM

@B-Unit -- You took the words right outta my mouth! Oooooh, Kevin wants to make a "real" movie!

This is either going to be brilliant or suck some pretty hefty balls...

Posted by: GoGo LaTata at December 27, 2010 1:34 AM

I laughed when I saw this trailer. It was an "are you fucking serious?" laugh. The movie may end up being great, and looks to be pretty intense, but this trailer just screams "See? Look how artsy I can be!!"

Posted by: KittyCat at December 29, 2010 2:38 PM