Terrible Analogies

If you haven’t seen The Wrestler yet, stop reading this blog, pick yourself up a copy, and settle in for a unique experience.  There’s no doubt The Wrestler has reinvigorated Mickey Rourke’s career with his stirring performance of a has-been wrestler who’s unable to leave that portion of his life in the past.  The Wrestler deserves all of the accolades it can muster, but there’s another film that was released in the same year as The Wrestler that didn’t get the same amount of attention yet still delivered an equally powerfully emotional experience that deserves to seen.

In JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself as he tries to come to terms with a movie career on the wane, endures an embroiled custody battle for his daughter, acknowledges a shrinking spotlight, struggles with an identity crisis, and grapples with his past in an effort to make a name for himself once again.  Unfortunately, Jean-Claude winds up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  With the weight of the world seemingly weighing him down, the “Muscles From Brussels” painfully slopes through his scenes, fighting internal demons instead of external forces, and along the way gives the performance of his lifetime.  The set piece of this film occurs as the director physically removes Jean-Claude from the set, raising him above the chaos and breaking the “fourth wall”, where Jean-Claude speaks directly to the audience, delivering what seems to be an impromptu, emotionally charged five minute monologue, leaving the audience guessing how much of it is real, and how much was scripted. 

I swear, after watching this stirring surprise of a film, if Jean-Claude isn’t given the opportunity to make another big budget film, it would be an absolute crime.

If you think Jean-Claude Van Damme can’t act, think again.

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