...from a filmmaker's point of view, one might imagine that going into films that spotlight drug addiction (...or
any type of addiction, for that matter), and stirring in a measure of comedy, in the midst of the film character's catering to, or dealing with the addiction, is a fairly tricky tightrope to transgress. The balance has to be amiable; indeed, one doesn't want to patronize the viewers, in exploiting the addiction facet, to the point where one is basically saying, in a 'politically incorrect' way (...damn, I hate that term), 'hey, lookie here...join the party; this is the
in thing to do!' And yet, with too much comedy inter-spliced...in a slapstick sort of way, ironically enough, the same thing seems to happen. Fortunately, for the most part, the lead dudes behind the camera, as well as the hungry, scribbling writers, have for the most part, genuinely managed to assume that proper balance (...off hand, this viewer cannot recall any film, immediately to mind, that otherwise
doesn't do this), making that tightrope seem as easy to trod upon, as if the rope itself is three feet wide, and flat. The window of range is so wide, in fact...well, for the indiscriminate, everyman 'tourists', there's the almost countless cinematic antics of Cheech & Chong, or Jay & Silent Bob. But,
for the more eclectic tastes, the devoted naysayers reach for cult oddities, like Terry Gilliam's eccentric road pic "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", Gregg Araki's wacky and cartoonish "Smiley Face", David Cronenberg's macabre-flavored dark-humored & surreal "Naked Lunch", or even the recent toke of deliciousness from director Adam Mason...the wildly, albeit darkly comical "Junkie". And to that respectable lot...can we conceivably add tag-team director Sean Weathers' and Aswad Issa's newest production, "Scumbag Hustler"...a quirky and episodic, inner-city staged look at crazed desperation...and appetite never sated...and yes, addiction wildly out of control...to the point where our hapless protagonist, herein, is quite willing to...well, let's take a peek, shall we??...
...for Solomon, life is all about the next hypo-driven heroin hit and/or crack toke, and the next, and the next, and so on...or desperately scamming the cash for all these successive...or shall we say excessive...slugs of illicit pharmaceutical relief, from hapless, dollar-surrendering passerbys. As a homefront, Solomon is holing up with his Bible-thumping brother, Tyler (Waliek Crandall, who previously worked with Weathers, in last year's "The Trade-Off"), and Tyler's wife, Tamia (...played by a coolly monikered, and equally coolly talented Sybelle Silverphoenix). Solomon is afforded the comfort of Tyler's home, upon the promised stipulation that he is getting his life together, and getting it clean; of course, Solomon is maintaining 'scout's honor' with one hand, and with the other hand behind his back, crossed fingers. Besides, Tyler is seen by Solomon as being far to distracted by his ecclesiastic devotion, to see what Solomon is really up to. Also drawing Tyler's attention is his wife, who pleads her own argument of desperation, in an effort to wring up a measure of much needed sexual satisfaction...something she's not getting at home, as the result of Tyler's insistent beliefs against such casual activity...and something that Solomon is quick to key in on, in not only taking the advantage...playing the role as surrogate lover, but also, drawing in, manipulating and sharing with Tamia, his oh-so 'special' kind of indulgence...
...and so, day in and day out, Solomon takes to the streets...hustling and scamming for bucks, to support his needs...begging, borrowing and stealing from 'Paul, to pay Peter', with regards to the drug dealers, whom he depends upon...taking time out to sexually pleasure the occasional ex-girlfriend, or even Tamia, whom Solomon further manipulates and deceives, by convincing her that Tyler is under some sort of secret governmental surveillance. When an opportunity to pull a major scam...an opportunity, which unbeknownst to him, was right under his nose, the whole time...an opportunity where he must decide what's more important to him...comes to his attention...well, judging from what has already transpired, one can only guess what Solomon will do...and well, one would probably and invariably guess correctly...
...those savvy with the 'Cheese, might well recall a previous look at some of director Sean Weather's work, herein, some months ago... his gritty and visceral short film productions in the previously reviewed 'Vault of Terror' anthology (...with a reportedly well-awaited follow-up, due to be unleashed around Halloween). Without missing a beat, as far as locale...namely, the rough, tough and chokingly unforgiving city streets of New York City...a living, breathing 'character', unto itself...Sean has honed and sharpened his filmmaking savvy, since 'Vault...", with a much more engaging, this-time feature-film length production of absolute frenetic inner-city intrigue and turmoil, with an emphasis on some rather interesting and unforgettable characters. Although the storyline for "Scumbag Hustler" is threadbare, at best, it is the characters that command attention, herein...characters genuinely interesting enough to warrant further examination, despite the film's abbreviated running time, as well as micro budget; without resist, one cannot help but want to know more about these people, as crazed as they are. In fact, this viewer found himself seeing this multi-beat, episodic film as almost like an extensive movie trailer, so to speak, imagining a much more developed feature film, which expounds upon the events, and the people associated with those events...
...it is often vanity, and sometimes outright pride, which coerces a director to assume a role in his own film; however, in watching Sean Weathers...here, self-cast as the overly kinetic Solomon...it appears more likely that he was having an absolute ball, in playing the character. The stuttering, fast-talking, hyper-kinetic behavior of the character, not withstanding...urban-flavored Gilligan-like, in that dirty, turned down cap and red wife-beater shirt...it was outrageously hilarious to watch Sean play the character, with his almost cartoonish bugging out of the eyes, and jutting out of the lower bridge, whenever Solomon gets ready to shoot up, or when he juggles the meager flaps of cash, which he'd just scammed a hapless victim out of. In fact, to waxrapsonic nostalgically, this viewer could not help but recall characters who look and behave similarly, in classic 'druggie' films as far back as 1936's "Reefer Madness", 1935's "Cocaine Fiends", 1934's "Maniac"...heck, even Spencer Tracy's facial contortions, in 1941's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"...a most assured film allegory about drug abuse, albeit an underlining one...would not be all that far removed, in similarity. And Solomon's frantically agitated, hither-tither, twitchy behavior is ideally made all the more so, with the addition of a simultaneously unconventional, yet ideal soundtrack selection of classic music pieces...
...and yet, there are moments in the film when Sean reins in the crazed bug-eyes & jutting jaw, and plays things perfectly straight, dramatically...and the difference between the two caricatures is almost quite startlingly different. And as amusing and fascinating as the character is to watch, the only question that arises, is the head-scratching query, regarding how in the heck, despite how much Solomon's overboard addiction has messed him up, does he manage to 'perform' so well in bed with the number of women, whom he coerces some really heated sex bouts with?? It's without a doubt, mind-boggling...almost as mind-boggling as the rather imaginative, albeit desperate scams, which Solomon amazingly comes up with, off the top of his head. I mean, are some people really
that naive...OK, let's say it...
that stupid, as to fall for some of this stuff?? Newspaper columns and broadcast media are often sprinkled with stories of hapless victims, who...well, let's face it: they
are that naive and stupid...and fortunately, that is where a good portion of the humor lies, in "Scumbag Hustler"...
...in the end, despite the despicability of the character, one cannot help but appreciate...and yes, even
like Solomon, in a strange way. Addiction aside, there's most assuredly something in Solomon, which any of us can relate to, to some degree, and much like the rest of us, he's doing what he can with what he has, to survive; ultimately, it's all a matter of how far one is willing to go, right?? (...even if it's, as in Solomon's case, a nudge towards 'Postman Always Rings Twice' territory). There's no denying that "Scumbag Hustler" depicts the humorous side of the scourges, turmoil and desperation of addiction...but we're not just talking merely drug addiction, here. Addiction to money...to sex...to one's religion...to whatever. And can't we all identify with that, in some way shape, or form?? Bravo, Mr. Sean Weathers, for showing us a side of ourselves, which is dark, ugly...and well, at times, just a little bit funny...
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