Posted: 02/26/2008

Dead Cool

(2004)

by Morgan Phelps

I should have known when the first scene occurred at a home bris, or the Jewish circumcision ritual, narrated by the baby receiving the circumcision this British film was destined to be crammed with weirdness.

Dead Cool explores a seemingly universal struggle of developing and combining the “new age family,” mixed with stepbrothers and sisters, ex-wives and deceased husbands. But there’s a twist that made it hard for this viewer to swallow the message: the semi-incestual relationships.

I hope I’m not the only one disturbed by 14- and 15-year-olds doing sex scenes. Although there are no explicit sex scenes and the relationship is merely hinted at, the 14-year-old stepsister wanting to see a circumcised penis because she had never seen one before troubled me.

On top of the implications of sexual relationships between children who are united by their parents’ union, the sexual relationship between an adult and 15-year-old David tipped the creepiness scale for me. Although it’s hinted at from the moment Henny’s family moves in with Mark’s, but that did not make the off-screen consummation of the relationship any less queasy for me.

Besides my misunderstanding of the strange sexual unions, I had little trouble understanding the slight accents and brief use of British lingo because the movie seemed as Americanized as possible. There was even the American character of psychologist Deirdre (played by Rosanna Arquette), the ex-wife of Mark Boa (played by Anthony Calf).

Writer, director and rabbi in the movie David Cohen deserves credit for giving the main character and narrator David (played by Steven Geller) the right mix of smartass lines and plain teenage angst.

David seems to have inherited his smartass-ness from his father Josh (played by James Callis). The father is a particularly interesting catalyst to action in the movie. After his death, he maintains a relationship with his eldest son David. David, though initially freaked out he’s talking to a ghost, has no problem helping his deceased father. He also shares his father’s affinity for elaborate fantasies.

The warm and fuzzy father-son moments are de-cheesed by the fact the father is a ghost and both the boys are sarcastic arses. Their odd relationships is summed up by the father saying, “Just because you’re alive, it doesn’t give you the right to lecture me.”

David’s mother Henny’s (played by Imogen Stubbs) character seemed out-dated and overdone to me. Her look was older than her age and she didn’t seem to have any of the spunk passed on to her son. It looks as if Josh comes back from the grave to make up for his wife’s dull and dated personality. This makes her perfect match for Mark Boa, who is cheesy and lame not only to his children and future stepchildren but also obvious to anyone watching the movie.

David’s grandma Lizzie (played by Liz Smith) was a fresh and kooky take on old worldviews supposedly rebelled against in the movie. Although she seems stuck in the past, she is strangely accepting of David’s relationship with an adult woman.

However, even a witty script and a few clever actors could not liven up the dull scenery and cinematography. Maybe it’s an accurate portrayal of drab British weather, but a sunny day or bright color would have been nice to see. It would have awoken the movie beyond its lively words.

Although it’s no cinematic masterpiece, it is a witty and different look at the Western hemisphere’s changing family structure. The fact a 15-year-old narrates it adds just enough angst appropriate for the movie. However, despite its humor there’s something about the relationships and plot that just didn’t translate across cultural boundaries for me.

Morgan Phelps is a student, writer and photographer living in Chicago.

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