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Where the Wild Things Are Party & Film Review
Well, would you look at that. SFist landed an invite to a VIP party at the Contemporary Jewish Museum for a fete honoring Spike Jonze's re-telling of Where the Wild Things Are. Actually, it was also a benefit for 826 Valencia, the Mission district nonprofit that makes people feel good via honing the writing skills of those less fortunate. Or, it's a pirate store. Anyway, last night's festivities, in the end, were all about honoring Hollywood ilk.
A few things you need to know about last night's party.
1) Catherine Keener is adorable, even when under the weather
2) Everyone was wearing Burger King hats
3) We (press) were not invited to the pre-screening of WTWTA
5) The entrance to the Contemporary Jewish Museum is stunning at night
4) Dave Eggers is a stupidhead meanie who hates us
Asked to bring a photog, we took noted local photographer Darwin Bell with us. After spending an hour or two getting tipsy at Orson, we finally arrived at the celebration of Maurice Sendak's cherished kid's book cum film, with time to spare. Once inside the museum, which we highly recommend, we grabbed several free glasses of wine, shoved a few free appetizers down our throats, and got to work. Well, we tried to get to work, anyway. But no one would let us.
Starting with the guy who wrote that autobiography about how he was almost on MTV's Real World: San Francisco, we snapped a few shots of WTWTA's screenwriter Dave Eggers.
That was a mistake.
Egger's George Washington-inspired coif immediately jolted at Bell's camera, shooting our photog a nasty look. He then did that hand across the neck sign for no more, while rolling his eyes. (Dave, you are no Johnny Depp, so cut the faux-insouciance bullshit. After all, we've seen you jump in front of a San Francisco Magazine lens on occasion. Really now, sir.)
Eggers HATES us. Aw.
Although way more seductive about it, WTWTA star Catherine Keener didn't want us to take her picture, either. But only because she said she was feeling ill. Keener, however, allowed us to gush over her and was super kind about our tacky admiration.
With that, though, we stopped taking shots of the folks who were there to promote themselves and their art. Alas.
Later in the night, for no reason whatsoever, a large studio representative came over to ask who the hell we were with. "Who are you with?" we rudely asked back. "Um, the studio," she shot back. (God, we forget how much we loathe certain aspects of LA. This type of exchange is one of them.)
On the plus side, while we were barred from the pre-screening, one of the Ists writers managed to catch Where The Wild Things Are in Chicago. Here is his review of the film. Take it away, Jake Guidry.
Maurice Sendak first picked Spike Jonze to direct Where The Wild Things Are after seeing Being John Malkovich, a movie Jonze directed a decade ago. Needless to say, the process it’s taken to transform Sendak’s beloved childrens book into a live action feature film has been long and tiring. And that’s just for the fans. We’ve threatened to eat our parents because of it. But, the wait will soon be over, and for Chicagoist, it already is.
We were fortunate enough to see an early screening last night of Where The Wild Things Are at The Music Box on Southport that benefited host 826 Chicago and featured Q&A with Max Records, co-writer Dave Eggers, Catherine Keener, and director/writer Spike Jonze. The event had a good, positive vibe. However, we must discuss the movie.
The main sentiment heard when one brings up Jonze’s adaptation of Wild Things is he better not screw it up! While we feel this way about essentially every film adaptation that ever came from a book, with Sendak’s story, the feeling is deeper. Every boy felt as if Where The Wild Things Are was his book. Every girl felt the story was about her and her childhood. Damned be the man who tarnishes such a jewel of our childhood.
However, the real obstacle with adapting this book to film is that it’s less than ten sentences long. While we usually complain about omissions in film adaptations, it’s what’s been added that matters. The question is: did Eggers and Jonze meaningfully develop such a simple story, or does it float off into some other galaxy, barely representing what the book is all about? Settle those nerves, it’s the former.
2009_09_30_wildthing.jpg Eggers and Jonze have written a story that fully fleshes out the themes and undertones of Sendak’s book and gives it context within today’s culture. The film, like all the rumors have said, is often dark. It is also sometimes very fun and playful. However, these are the things that make up a childhood and Eggers and Jonze did not minimize the feelings every 9-year-old boy has. The film has a very clear message that is not over-the-top, preachy, or forced. It all feels very natural and genuine. There are several moments where we felt deeply connected to the characters. These moments nearly brought on tears. We’re not joking.
The emotionality of Jonze’s adaptation is the driving force of the film, and a huge part of that was his choice against CGI for the Wild Things (except for the facial expressions). CGI would have destroyed this film. The fact that the Wild Things look and seem real in both their appearance and movement is the chief reason we connected with them.
In the book, the Wild Things have no names or developed character. In the film, they are, and this is perhaps the most gratifying part. Jonze developed all the Wild Things to have sincere character traits, ones that are arguably manifestations of Max’s psyche (he is the one dreaming all of this). The highlight here is Carol, voiced by James Gandolfini. Gandolfini does an incredible job bringing this character to life and it is easily the most compelling part of Where The Wild Things Are. There are parts where Gandolfini had us so uneasy and legitimately worried for Max and the other Wild Things that it was difficult to watch, yet we couldn’t take our eyes off the screen. We’d be surprised if Gandolfini doesn’t take any hardware home for his performance.
The choice to shoot in Australia was another great one by Jonze and his team. It is a beautiful place that allows for the fantasy element to be brought in without being overdone. These places are real, after all. Long, wide shots of Max and Carol trekking the desert are beautiful and understated. “All this used to be rock,” Carol tells Max, “then it turned to sand, then it will turn to dust. I’m not sure what comes after dust.” It’s dark, indeed, but poignant nonetheless. It is moments like this that give much appreciated scope to Sendak’s story.
There’s not much to complain about with Where The Wild Things Are. Perhaps it’s too dark. Perhaps it doesn’t really offer a solution. Perhaps it’s too cryptic. But that’s how life is sometimes, and Jonze captures it wonderfully.
For our arbitrary rating, we give it 3.34 Hancock Towers out of 4.
Where The Wild Things Are opens October 16.
If you would like to volunteer at 826 Valencia, go here.