Is there a point in time that you can clearly remember a movie targeting teens that knows its been a success without even trying?
This year’s edition of Sundance has been quite fascinating quite evidently because it featured the likes of Megan Park’s “My Old Ass” among others. However, another option would be 2018 since within the very same year, there three (somewhat strange) masterpiece movies; “The Hate U Give,” Eighth Grade and Blockers, and innumerable others. Others may suggest that “Booksmart,” too, should have been included in this categorically narrow list a year later. However, Isn’t it apparent by now that it takes years to do so.
At least formally, “Lisa Frankenstein” was expected to bring a bad taste as its able to be qualified as the next great adolescent film from this particular side of the 20s. To begin with, Jennifer’s Body is written by Diablo Cody, who possesses an innate ability to capture the essence of teenage and adult women. Diablo Cody, who has written hits such as “Juno” and “Young Adult” is also the creator of Jennifer’s Body a movie with wickedly perverse qualities. The movie is a horror-sci-fi romance, which is the concern of Worlds of Wonder Studios, which created the movie. Finally, the role instituted by Kathryn Newton, also in the film “Blockers”, features a reclusive goth girl, from the 1980s, who becomes enmeshed with a monstrous thing from the background and loves going to insane extremes.
With all these multitalented assets within grasp, it’s a pity that “Lisa Frankenstein” fails to deliver on any level be it utter belly laughs, teenage melodrama, or romance gone haywire, making one wish for many more of the gory courses it presents. The only point that it merits–evenly splitting the fault between direction and script. The script needed a bit more bravado, which the director failed to incorporate on-screen–such a feeble storyline calls for more dramatic imagery but it lacked any cinematic enchantment.
This story is bitching about a girl called Lisa Swallows. This crazy girl watched her mother’s head get chopped off by an axe murder and even worse, her father ended up marrying the bitch Janet, Carla Gugino, just one year after that brutal incident took place. Now all Lisa does is sit in a corner, ignoring her over there only fun cheerleader step-sister Taffy Liza Soberano and day dreaming at the graveyard close by, where her favorite tombstone closely resembles an old woman with missing a head. One of the most famous words she has heard and now believes in is, “what goes around comes around.” After enduring so much at the hands of her school crush and her disgusting lust driven lab partner, it’s safe to say that when the evil corpse answers Lisa’s injuring and asks to be with her, he later misinterprets what Lisa intended.
Perhaps the expectation of some ‘Beetlejuice’ cheekiness and specificity and indeed a zesty tune and freaky performances or a soulful version of ‘Edward Scissorhands’ in the background of ‘Lisa: Frankenstein’ may not be too far-fetched to imagine. For a short while, it’s possible to be entertained as Cole Sprouse, who plays the smitten monster corpse, tries to impersonate a young-sad-Johnny-Depp. Such is his charm. Hordes of people who have been following Lisa Frankenstein must be truly perturbed as the British filmmaker’s attempts at melding or fusing the genres in the narrative does work out in a good way. Human appendages meant to complete the Victorian versus ‘Jack the Ripper Monster’ creature are seen courtesy of nervous Lisa and her goofy monster. Atom does the villainous murderous kisser with what seems to be the most delightfully ‘80s costumes seen since ‘The Wedding Singer’.
Maybe here he deserves some credit as well–after all, Cody’s screenplay which knows exactly how it is playing with Mary Shelley’s work, is a rare risk to take today, one that is well intentioned aimed at all the misfit teenagers who want to be represented as they are no matter how strange they look. Furthermore, both her and Williams are quite adamant about the concept of the ‘80s, which both assert was the prime era for high school movies, and when a picture like “Lisa Frankenstein” would fit perfectly. However, along the way it seems that the two have neglected to breathe second life into the atmosphere of the film they plan to remake for the 21st century. There is a pleasing emptiness–so to speak–a sense of the repetitive, unoriginal sometimes even drabness in “Lisa Frankenstein,” which should have sounded impressive due to the usage of the ERIE Track “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and shouldn’t have felt pale because of the extensive use of magenta in the production elements. In its fan best moments, it appears that Williams’ debut is the essence of the distinctive monster which is at its core, perished but has nowhere to rest its head. It’s a great shame.
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