Havoc (2005)

Sometimes, life works in funny ways. I could explain to you how bad this film is. I could tell you that it's basically James Toback's Black & White (down to the inclusion of Bijou Phillips) except even dumber. I could tell you that the film, in attempting to address the inauthenticity of white "street" culture, gets swallowed up by that same inauthenticity. I could tell you that it wouldn't know subtle if it got a subtlety colonic. I could tell you that there are gruesome segments of the film in which Anne Hathaway tries to act like a wigger. But the film pulls its own review out of itself about half an hour into the film, and thus I turn over the floor to Alexis Dziena. What do you have to say, Alexis? "Okay, you know what? I for one would just like to voice an opinion. This is crazy wack. I just had to say that." Thanks for being honest, Alexis! In all fairness, there is one reason and one reason only to see this, and it's not Anne Hathaway's tits. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in this, and more than his performances in Mysterious Skin or Manic, he proves once and for all that he is this generation's Marlon Brando. It's not because he's good in this film; actually, his performance is embarrassingly silly. But that's exactly it -- like Brando, Gordon-Levitt demonstrates here that he is entirely unafraid of giving ludicrous performances. His intensity and conviction know no bounds, he has little to no sense of shame and he'll try just about anything if he thinks it might offer some entertainment. His future will be impressive, since he's already demonstrated that even in bad films he can be riveting. Heed the advice of Alexis, but just remember that Joseph tried to help a bit.

Grade: D-