Guy X Movie Review:


Saul Metzstein, director of “Guy X,” has admitted that he did not read the book it was based on before he chose to make it. ‘I just read the start, and really wanted to film it.’ I hate to say it, but it shows. The movie starts fine, and is perfectly entertaining until it tries to develop a plot.

The opening has Rudy Spruance (Jason Biggs), an army corporal, dropped off at his base. He was told he was going to Hawaii, but this place bears an uncanny resemblance to Greenland. After being attacked by a vicious swarm of mosquitoes, he wakes up in the army hospital to discover that he has been mistaken for Martin Pederson, a ‘public information officer,’ which is a polite term for propagandist. The commander of the unit, Lane Woolwrap (Jeremy Northam, who embraces the role, disappearing into it) is not interested in Rudy’s explanation though; as far as he is concerned, he has his ‘P.I.O.,’ and that’s all that matters.

Also at the base is Irene Teal, played by Natasha McElhone, whom Spruance sees as the only good reason to stay in Greenland. He spends his time at the base flirting with her and writing up editions of the newspaper, expanding his staff to include a food critic, who suggests to the chef that he try sampling the local puffin, and a film critic, whose job seems slightly redundant since the only movie the camp screens is “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

This is all perfectly entertaining as an inferior version of “M*A*S*H,” but then the movie decides to switch tone completely and start having some mystery/thriller/conspiracy plot, that feels like it has just wandered in from another screenplay. Rudy discovers a door near the camp, that leads to something, where someone is doing something to certain objects or individuals, and Rudy attempts to get to the bottom of it, or something. I’m not just being vague to avoid giving away plot details, because I don’t know how much I could give away. I don’t think I could pass a test on what happens in the last half hour of this movie.

This is possibly because I stopped caring. The movie starts out as one story, ends as another. I liked these characters, and the first half works well, but the later developments dictate that it must become a different type of movie, and it’s mismatched. It doesn’t find a way to draw its ideas together, and the end feels like a cop-out.

Movies can often bring disparate styles and notions together, and make it work well. “Pleasantville,” for instance, starts out as a sort of silly, amusing comedy and somehow ends up as an intelligent and moving social commentary. Every other Robert Altman movie ends up being about something you didn’t anticipate. The difference is, in these cases, you leave the cinema realising that the movies had these things right through them, always beneath the surface. “Guy X,” on the other hand, as entertaining as its first half was, left me feeling cheated.

Adam Whyte

There's a clear attempt to capture a MASH/Catch 22 vibe in this quirky military comedy. And while there's an enjoyable subversive atmosphere, the story simply isn't sharp enough to mean much of anything.

In June 1979, Rudy Spruance (Biggs) is surprised to arrive at Qangattarsa Military Base in Greenland in the middle of a mosquito infestation. Especially since he was supposed to be in Hawaii, and now everyone's calling him Pederson. The colonel (Northam) seems to exist in his own universe, while the men do whatever they like. Rudy falls for the colonel's assistant (McElhone), which probably isn't a good idea. And then he discovers a secret hospital ward and befriends a badly injured patient named X (Ironside). So what's really going on here?

There's plenty of dry and funny material here, augmented by the 24-hour sunshine, the gently subversive nature of the soldiers and Rudy's role as the base newspaper editor. There's a gently loping rhythm to the film, with absurd touches like ubiquitous puffins, a seriously lost lemon tree and the cinema's never-ending run of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Meanwhile, there are quietly absorbing story strands as Rudy stumbles into the base's secrets and woos an untouchable woman.

But the film never actually does anything with these elements. They simply swirl in the wind as we wait for everything to gel into something vaguely meaningful. There are some answers in the end, but the currents of emotion and intrigue never pay off. The message seems to be that tired old chestnut: make love not war. And the script relies far too heavily on the tired cliche of the knockout punch (at least three major plot events hinge on Rudy being unconscious).

Performances are fine--realistic and engaging. Biggs is very good as the guy with the wrong name in the wrong place doing the wrong job. Although Northam struggles with his dodgy gruff-Southern accent. In the end we're left with a lot of interesting ideas and a gorgeous-looking production (it was filmed in Iceland, and every frame looks terrific). And nothing else.

Rich Cline

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