Conference bookie::movies

484.0. "The Rapture" by ASDG::GASSAWAY (Insert clever personal name here) Fri Mar 04 1994 16:14

    
I'd like to enter a note here about a movie called "The Rapture".  As a brief
overview, this movie purports to be about a hedonistic, lost woman who
finds God.

I cannot do this movie full justice without revelaing the plot.  I cannot do
this notesfile full justice without revealing the full plot because then someone
might be tempted to rent it, and society would lose the benefit of the 
productive work one could be doing instead of watching this wretched slab of
rot.

Behind the form feed:



One of the first warning signs that this could be trouble, is that the 
big-name acter involved with the project is Mimi Rogers, who is the ex-wife
of Tom Cruise.  After watching the entire film, I'd say her main talent is
her uncanny ability to take off her clothes and jiggle her rather largish 
breasts in numerous scenes, without actually exposing the nipples to the
camera.  I found myself wandering away from the dialogue and plot, absorbed
in thought about just how she managed, yet again, to emerge from another
scene with her dignity intact.

Other than Mimi's breasts, here's what I could gather from the story.  Mimi 
plays Operator 134, a telphone operator bored with her job, who goes out
at night with this middle-aged swinger, scouring airport hotels for married 
couples to engage in group sex (well not actually group sex, rather the young
virile female does the middle-aged lout while Mimi watches, bored, and then the 
married stud does Mimi, who is still bored, while the middle-aged scumwad drools
in the distance).  This was supposed to establish how Mimi was completely with-
out morals.  There were alot of things that were supposed to be established
in this film. However, there was an over sight on the part of the screen 
writer who neglected to include enough dialogue to make these things clear.
I will try to fill in the characterization gaps the best I can.

OK, so we've got hedonistic Mimi (she could really take some lessons from the
Bad Lieutenant).  After another day of boredom at work, we see her with her
boyfriend (although at the time it's really difficult to figure this out.
I thought it was some random pond algae she picked up at the Y, seeing as there
was no dialogue included to indicate these two were sharing anything more than
penetrative genital stimulation.  Luckily, I'm cluing you in).  She looks bored
again.  Somehow, boyfriend comes up with theory that she's depressed and needs
a therapist.  Hence, it is now established that life of airport hotels can only
mean lonely, empty lives for the participants.

So operator 134 has yet another dull day of "What city please" before heading
down to the commisary. She sits and broods.  Behind her are three people who
are "saved" talking about visions of "the pearl" and "the boy", and hearing "the
tone".  I missed some essential dialogue here, because I was trying to figure
out how there could only be four people in the commisary after the 
opening credits lingered over the hundreds of endless-faceless cubes in the 
telephone office, and how these same four people would sit in the same 
four seats, day after day, when there were SOOOO many tables to choose from.

So Mimi is supposedly falling deeper into despair, she's in her apartment
and two strange men ring the bell.  She opens the door.  Reality check #1:
Since when does a single woman living in Los Angeles open her door for strange
men, especially after having looked through the peephole first?  Men tell 
her that she better repent before the end of the world because he is coming
back.  She invites them in.  Reality check #2: Since when does any sane person
invite unknown people preaching foreign religion into his/her home?  So then 
she tries to use wit when talking to them, made especially painful for the 
viewer due to inability of Mimi to convey intelligence, compounded by the
screenwriters inability to write any into the dialogue.  Mimi takes the bible
offered to her and shoos men out the door.

Some unspecified but short time later, she is in a post-coital late night
state with the boyfriend character.  She comes to the conclusion that the
boyfriend has to leave because she needs to make the bed, since it has 
suddenly become "unclean".  She kicks guy out of bed, takes shower and 
makes the bed.  Guy was saying something at this point that I missed because
he was saying it in such a monotone fashion that I thought it was a mantra
of some sort that wasn't important.  Since all his lines were delivered in
such a way, I tuned out his dialogue completely.  Thankfully, he was a 
basically talkless character.

Next we see operator 134 trying to make conversation with the three other 
commisary occupants.  She says she's seen the pearl, the occupants tell her
she's full of guano.  Well, what do you know, that night she sees the pearl.
The pearl as in a large gray circle (I do mean the 2-D variety) with a 
light spinning over the top to create "sheen".  Oh my, she's got God, even
though nothing has been presented in the way of dialogue to explain why her
character would find any inspiration in ANYTHING, not to mention fundamentalism,
and not to mention in the span of three days.

So now we see operator 134 with a new lease on life, asking the customers,
"Have you seen God" rather than "What city please".  Boss man hauls her out
to the office in short time, and asks her why she's exhibiting such behavior.
Two or three lines of dialogue about "sharing the word" brings out the fact 
that boss man is also "saved", let's talk about how wonderful this is.
Reality check #3: What company IS this that she is not fired immediately for
prolsetyzing to the customers on company time?

Next we cut to religious meeting with "the boy" in attendance.  The purpose
of the meeting seems to be for the boy to whisper in the boss man's ear, then
the boss man tells everyone that armeggedeon will come in six years.  What I
found most entertaining was trying to figure out what late 70's blaxploitation
sitcom I had seen the little kid's older brother on.

Then quick let's cut back to the studio of the boyfriend.  Looks like boyfriend
makes living by spraying some sort of aerosol substance on furniture.  
Boyfriend looks like grunge musician.  Mimi walks in and immediately starts
up with the word of God.  Boyfriend admits his undying love for her and
will she pleasse take him back and accept that he doesn't pray.  This seems
to be an acceptable compromise to both characters and they hug.  This 
establishes that the two love each other dearly.  I'm left with the growing
suspicion that I missed something.

Cut to six years later.  Mimi, and a much spiffier looking boyfriend
in pew, with young female child in between (guess they got married).
So happens the female  child is named Mary.  Listening to word of "the boy",
now "the pre-teen".

Cut again to husband's OFFICE, where he is in the process of firing an employee
who continues to have a drinking/performance problem even though he's been
through the 12-step.  This establishes that if you get God (even though
you didn't want to pray less than two scenes ago), you will be transformed
from scummy furniture  sprayer to socially acceptable middle-manager in
only six years.

Cut to scene of long silent hall with lots of open doors leading off 
hall.  Things on floor in the corridor.  Silence broken by gunshot.
Crazed drunk from last scene emerges from doorway, goes into next office,
shoots occupant.  (Things on floor must be earlier victims) Reality check #4:
Wouldn't at least one person in this unnamed corporation look out of the door
to see what's going on?  Wouldn't someone scream?  Maybe alert the press?

So while crazed unsaved man wreaks havoc in an office, husband-the-hero-and-
baaaad-acter comes screaming down the corridor, runs past the dead bodies,
hears a gunshot, stops dead in his tracks, REVERSES DIRECTION, and heads 
towards the shot.  Reality check #5: You're at work, you hear a gunshot,
you see dead bodies in the hall, would it not be prudent to go to a 
safe place and call the authorities, especially if you had been responsible
for firing the gunman only a few hours earlier?  Husband-from-another-reality
confronts gunman. says he has a small child, gunman shoots him.

Cut to funeral.  Wife of anonymous body in hall in hysterics, approached
by Mimi, reeking of a Valium overdose.  Mimi completely unfazed over
husbands death since he's now in Heaven with God and it's God's plan that
we have to accept.  Hysterical woman doesn't understand.

Cut to Mimi driving in car.  Picks up hitchhiker that looks like he came
from the MTV beach house.  They go to hotel room, Mimi goes in bathroom, 
steals hitcher's backpack when he's not looking, takes his gun, and then
tells him to leave.  Hitcher leaves.  Mimi points gun at her throat.  Can't
seem to bring herself to pull trigger.  Walks outside and encounters an
automatic film developing machine that's spitting out 4x6 glossies of her
husband standing on a rock mound in the desert.  She takes it as a vision
to go to the desert where God will appear and take her to Heaven.  Viewers
take it as further proof that anyone can get a screenplay produced in Hollywood
these days.

Woman goes home and grabs daughter (after agonizing over what to wear), 
chooses against adequate shelter and food (it will be provided by God),
and heads for the desert.  She and kid wait out in desert.  Days pass,
still waiting for God.  I personally thought he already came since after
what is supposedly two weeks in the desert, Mimi's hair is still clean,
and her red-hair-and-fair-skin daughter shows no signs of dehydration
or sun poisoning.

Cop comes by.  Mimi tells him that she and her daughter are waiting out in
the desert for God to take them to Heaven.  Cop instantly in love with Mimi,
goes home and comes back with a blanket for Mimi and a candy bar for the 
kid.  Reality check #6: Cop comes across grody woman and child in desert,
woman says they're waiting for God to take them to Heaven, cop pulls out 
TASER and stuffs them into the car, takes them to county hospital.  In
a perfect world, movie ends here.

But we live in a messed up world, and child becomes rambunctious.  Mimi running
out of patience with God, takes kid to the drive-thru at the local fast food
joint, orders burgers, pulls away without paying bill. Reality check #7:
Don't you have to pay first, before they give you the food?

Mimi in quandry about the thief she's become.  Drives back into desert, pulls
out gun that her concerned neighbor made her take along (there could be 
weirdos out in that desert, you know) and shoots the kid in the head.  Turns
gun on herself, but can't go through with it, because God doesn't let people
who kill themselves into Heaven (not to mention people who kill their children,
or even worse, drive off without paying for their burger).

Mimi driving 100mph down highway.  Visions of horses dance before her.  Lisa
clued in by outside source that these are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalyse.
Cop pulls over Mimi for speeding.  Of course the same cop as before, because 
there are a limited number of acters in LA that have such a low level of 
talent that they would qualify for this movie, and they were all involved 
doing guest spots on Beverly Hills 90210 at the time.  Mimi blurts out to 
cop that she killed her kid and that she no longer loves God because he 
LET HER KILL HER DAUGHTER. Eh?

Cop finally throws her in the clink.  Turns out her bunkmate is one of the
women she did in the airport hotel (limited casting, pt. 2).  Guess what,
she's saved now too.   Mimi continues to deny love of God.  More horsemen,
trumpet blares in B-flat, visions of hellfire and brimstones.  Jail falls 
to pieces.

Little girl comes back to claim Mommy, and take her to Heaven if only she'll
love God.  Mommy refuses, and is left in a black room with dirt on the
floor forever.  Onerous tones on the soundtrack as the credits roll.  This
establishes that the movie is finally over.

Minus infinity out of *****.

Lisa
    

    Bless you, Lisa. [If you'll pardon the expression!] I'd been tempted to
    catch this one by some reviews touting the, um, more tragic bits near
    the end, but you have spared me the time and video-bucks. [But I'd
    luuuv to see this on MST3K-PG17.]
    
    -b

    Lisa, you did a job I despaired of ever doing: Describing this in such
    a way that it wouldn't sound better than it is.  It's one of the many
    recent examples of thoroughly dull movies which have gotten rave
    reviews ("Brave!" "Astonishing!" "Rotating vibrating thumbs!") because
    their intentions seem just a teensy bit outside the mainstream. 
    
    Please, folks, if you're interested in cinematic Christianity, rent a
    Robert Bresson instead.  Or maybe "Mean Streets".
    
    Ray

    
    well, gosh, folks. i thought it was *brilliant*
    

    I've seen this movie three times now, and while I must agree that Ms.
    Rogers acting skill is, er, limited, her actions in the movie are to me
    at least very thought-provoking.  How she gets to where she ends up may
    appear to be "convenient" in order to move the plot along, but it
    really doesn't seem that implausible.
    
    As a movie, it not great cinema.  But as a vehicle designed to question
    belief, Christianity, and the value of life on earth, it works.
    
    NAZZ

    
    If we're talking about questioning belief, I thought "Last Temptation
    of Christ" was a much better movie for that.  
    
    There was no character development at all in this movie, either acted
    out by the performers, nor written into the screenplay.  There was no
    situational development either, to give reasons why scenes would occur
    at all.
    
    Being brought up in a Jewish household, most of the New Testament goes
    right by me.  But I understood what was going on in "Last Temptation of
    Christ" and what issues were the ones being thrown out for discussion.
    I totally missed any purpose for this movie at all, and it reminded me
    of the quality level of your generic made-for-TV movie.
    
    Lisa
    

    FWIW, written and directed by Michael Tolkin, who wrote the 
    novel "The Player" (as well as appearing in the film, and perhaps
    writng the screenplay).
    
    - Dave
    

    The Shout
   
    Spoiler..
    
    
    
    With a backdrop of clouds swirling around him/her, a sickly 
    Charly Brown character stands on a bridge with mouth agape.
    
    What's it all mean? Huh?    
    
    The obvious time, effort, and extended prose offered in description
    of Tolkin's film by the base noter makes me suspect the director
    at least acheived the goal of getting the base noter's attention.
    
    
    I kinda liked the film.
                                        

    If you knew me, you'd know I have a far easier, and more entertaining,
    time writing about things I think are bad, stupid, and/or silly than
    things I think are wonderful.
    
    Lisa

I watched this movie because a review made it out to be, well, profound or 
something.  I kept waiting for the profundity but, in the end, it just seemed 
like a simplistic morality tale.  I was reminded of some fundamentalist-
apocalyptic comic books I saw many years ago.  

I leave open the possibility that there is meaning other than the obvious
that I just didn't grasp.  If so, it was either too subtle or too esoteric for 
me.

Bob