Very Bad Things

Very Bad Things
by Peter Berg

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Movie Reviews of Very Bad Things

Movie Review: A Supreme Example of Black Comedy
Summary: 5 Stars

"Very Bad Things" is one of the more disturbing movies I have ever seen--it can be physically uncomfortable to watch the movie, but fascinating nonetheless. Perhaps the prime example of this is the early scene in the movie with the hooker and the man who inspects the noise.

The plotline is an interesting concotion. Five friends attend a bachelor's party in a Las Vegas hotel, wherein the prostitute hired for their entertainment is accidentally killed whilst having sex with the brother of the groom. From there the movie spirals into a mess of murder and chaos. The characters exhibit great depth as they attempt to cope with their acts and the attempted coverup, while the act of murder destroys them both inwardly and outwardly, as the tightly-knit group of friends begin to violently turn on each other.

There's a notion of either supreme cosmic irony or karma (depending on your point of view) as the last scene fills the screen.

Human complexes come to the fore throughout, from Carmen Diaz's unstoppable and insane need to go through with the wedding at whatever cost, to Christian Slater's ego-driven lust for power to the point where power and control is a death urge. In the process, the frailties of each person become absolutely hilarious. The function of humor serves two goals in this movie: to keep the audience from nausea and despair, and to drive home the point that the lengths people will go to protect their own interests in the face of all obstacles and against all morality is ultimately a destructive drive that also from a God-like perspective seems so ridiculous that it's just downright stupid.

It's no accident we don't feel sympathy for any of the characters except perhaps the one who seeks to repent and the initial murder victims.

The film is an indictment against us for acting this way--driven by power and greed, self-serving animals that are guided entirely by our own peculiar mental illnesses. When we seek to protect ourselves within the framework of a social group, the will of the group will retract to it's originators--the group becomes a mass of self-serving beasts running at conflicting aims. Death is the only result. In moral terms when we perpetuate evil, we invite it in kind for the very simple reason that like attracts like. Karma, baby.

I'm not sure this was the original intention of the movie, but this is the way I read it. Ultimately it's a fascinating movie that has three levels of appeal: to begin with, visceral comedy or intellectual stimulation. But the problem with this is that these two are often mutually exclusive. The third is an absorption in the one without the expense of the other. Approach it in your own way, but remember that its comedic aspect is no less important than its thematic one.

Summary of Very Bad Things