When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light...
Now this is interesting, in light of the religious angle of this examination; and specifically the Gerogetown/Exorcist paralles. Billy Idol looms large in the apartment of Demi Moore's character, Jules. Why? He's never mentioned. It's never inquired of her as to why she went with this elaborate motif in her living room; and he's certainly not on the film's soundtrack. If we look at the video to his song "Eyes Without a Face," we see the image of his disembodied head floating in the blackness. It comes toward the camera as he begins to sing. I couldn't help but think of The Exorcist once again and an image that has come to represent the film in many ways; which is interesting, as it only appears for a fraction of a second in the original cut of the movie. It's a brief shot of the face of actress/stuntwoman Eileen Dietz, who doubled for Linda Blair in the film for certain scenes; particularly those where Linda was too young to enact what the script called for. Eileen also did some make-up tests for the face of the demon:
Of course they didn't go with this look; but Friedkin thought the image was so striking, he decided to "subliminally" plant it in Father Karras' dream sequence. Over the years, this has become known as the face of "Captain Howdy"; Regan's imaginary friend she speaks to through a Ouija board. I don't know...even knowing who and what it is, it's still super creepy. But here's Eileen at some length, grimacing in the make-up:
When you think of it more as a Japanese theatrical mask, it makes it a little easier to look at. Maybe.
Or, as Ms. Dietz's actual face, which is quite pretty.
So what does all this have to do with SEF? Well, how about Demi Moore is the Virgin Mary and Ron the decorator is none other than...Jesus Christ?
Now, actually, I'm not even sure what I mean...so let's figure it out together!
Okay, I'm not going to analyze the movie on a scene by scene basis. Just observations about the film as they come to mind. I should mention that in part one of this blog, I implied that Rob Lowe's friends abandoned him--after he was arrested--to go hang at St. Elmo's. I was wrong. They do, in fact, bail him out and he joins them afterwards at their fave hang; so I guess they're not that execrable.
Looking at imagery from the sets of Jules' apartment and the adjoining hallway, several ideas and themes seem to become evident. The color pink, for one, which is of course a shade of red. But let's look at the still of "Ron the Decorator" as he stands outside the door of his apartment; having been summoned by Jules to meet Kevin (Andrew McCarthy) in attempt at match-making the two men. Ron is wearing bright green pants and holding a bright red drink. We can assume it's a strawberry margarita, a drink that was wildly popular in the mid-80's (more than likely frozen). True green and red. Well, what does that bring to mind? Christmas. We've already seen red and green on the Billy character, in first few frames of the film. Interestingly, Billy was cloaked in a jet black graduation gown. And here, Ron is also "cloaked" in a heavy black sweater. A paralell, then, between these two characters? Directly behind Ron is the front door to his apartment; it's crossbeam forming a crucifix. Actually a double crucifix; one rightside up and the other upside down, more or less. An extremely similar door features in EX:
Okay, I'm not going to analyze the movie on a scene by scene basis. Just observations about the film as they come to mind. I should mention that in part one of this blog, I implied that Rob Lowe's friends abandoned him--after he was arrested--to go hang at St. Elmo's. I was wrong. They do, in fact, bail him out and he joins them afterwards at their fave hang; so I guess they're not that execrable.
Looking at imagery from the sets of Jules' apartment and the adjoining hallway, several ideas and themes seem to become evident. The color pink, for one, which is of course a shade of red. But let's look at the still of "Ron the Decorator" as he stands outside the door of his apartment; having been summoned by Jules to meet Kevin (Andrew McCarthy) in attempt at match-making the two men. Ron is wearing bright green pants and holding a bright red drink. We can assume it's a strawberry margarita, a drink that was wildly popular in the mid-80's (more than likely frozen). True green and red. Well, what does that bring to mind? Christmas. We've already seen red and green on the Billy character, in first few frames of the film. Interestingly, Billy was cloaked in a jet black graduation gown. And here, Ron is also "cloaked" in a heavy black sweater. A paralell, then, between these two characters? Directly behind Ron is the front door to his apartment; it's crossbeam forming a crucifix. Actually a double crucifix; one rightside up and the other upside down, more or less. An extremely similar door features in EX:
Interestingly, by this door and also the one in Jules' apartment, there is a long staff with a hook. In the EX, we find out this is used to open the attic door, which is in the ceiling. In SEF, we don't know what it is; but it's certainly too long to be a walking stick or umbrella. But here it is, in both movies. To clarify: I do not know if these choices/images in SEF that came twelve years after The Ex are intentional or not; I am merely pointing them out when I see them and drawing paralells. The interesting thing is that I keep finding them. Perhaps the production designer on SEF watched EX for inspiration about Georgetown interiors. And these, interestingly, are the only two major studio films I can think of that are so decidedly set in that neighborhood.
So Ron is in red and green, standing in front of a cross and holding a drink with a strawberry perched on the glass. Now this gets interesting; and I did not know this before I started doing a bit of research. The strawberry is a traditional symbol of Christ and The Virgin Mary.
Before we get back to strawberries (and I will more than likely be jumping around here a lot); and in regards to the window motif of the film, we can see quite markedly in Jule's apartment, the outlines of the opposite windows being cast by the light coming through them. In particular, another series of crucifixes aligned on her door which also has built in crucifixes:
The window and the door are both major visual elements of EX. We also see, quite markedly in the above shot, the use of pink and baby blue in the color scheme. That pair of colors is a traditional indicator of "male" (baby blue) and "female" (pink) for babies. So, we are connecting Jules' living space to babies; perhaps the most famous baby for the past two thousand years being Jesus.
If we watch Billy Idol's "Eyes Without a Face" video we can only see at as one thing, I think, as it has no "plot." The images don't even particularly mesh with the song lyrics. Let's look at those:
If we watch Billy Idol's "Eyes Without a Face" video we can only see at as one thing, I think, as it has no "plot." The images don't even particularly mesh with the song lyrics. Let's look at those:
So, if you watch the video for "Eyes Without A Face," I think you can only see it as some kind of ritual. A ritual by fire. A ring of fire. Or more precisely, a hexagon of fire. Perhaps a pentagram would've been a little too obvious for a video which clearly depicts someone being initiated into a coven of some kind. I guess a hexagram is the next best thing. Or, wait...is it an octagon? Maybe this is just a straight up satanic ritual? It sure looks like one! And this video was just par for the course on MTV back in the day.
MOM
Hey Chris, what are you watching?
CHRIS
Oh, it's MTV.
MOM
Who is that?
CHRIS
Oh, that's Billy Idol.
MOM
What's he doing?
CHRIS
I think he's being initiated into a Satanic cult.
MOM
Oh, that's nice. Did you mow the lawn?
This kind of imagery was pretty common in rock videos. No one even gave it a second thought, not even Tipper Gore. It was the 80's.
Now, I don't know if Billy was a practicing Satanist. Probably not. It was more, I think, rock-and-roll-cool-bad-boy hyperbole. But the video for that song also features barred windows, which see later in SEF when Jules is attempting to freeze herself to death.
MOM
Hey Chris, what are you watching?
CHRIS
Oh, it's MTV.
MOM
Who is that?
CHRIS
Oh, that's Billy Idol.
MOM
What's he doing?
CHRIS
I think he's being initiated into a Satanic cult.
MOM
Oh, that's nice. Did you mow the lawn?
This kind of imagery was pretty common in rock videos. No one even gave it a second thought, not even Tipper Gore. It was the 80's.
Now, I don't know if Billy was a practicing Satanist. Probably not. It was more, I think, rock-and-roll-cool-bad-boy hyperbole. But the video for that song also features barred windows, which see later in SEF when Jules is attempting to freeze herself to death.
I think we do have, on some level, some kind of religious theme happening in SEF. Now, if the other Billy--that is, Rob Lowe's "Billy"--does in some way represent a kind of "Lucifer" figure and Ron the Decorator is a kind of Christ figure; are the two in some way vying for Jules? Interestingly, an infant does figure into the plot. Rob's character has a baby. I'm not sure if we ever find out if it's a boy or a girl. So, we have a baby who's dad might be the devil. And interestingly, later in the movie, Billy attempts to forcibly have sex with Jules. What could this mean? I'm not sure but it does seem as though the characters are all somehow under the sway of Billy/Lucifer in some way. Is he tempting them all to sin? Is this why they are all in some kind of purgatory? They must send him off and away on a bus at the end of the movie in order to be free of him. But, like Lucifer, he has literally shown them the light. Jules acts as a proxy for the group when it is Billy who "saves" her life; explains to her what "St. Elmo's Fire" actually is and then even shoots flame through the air. And what's up with that terrifying clown face? Another link to the face of "Captain Howdy" from EX? It's a horror in it's own right.
And again, I can't help but be reminded of this scene from EX that has a similar depiction of flame, as Ellen Burstyn looks for the source of mysterious noises in her Georgetown attic:
Here's another startlingly similar visual. The scene where Billy climbs out the window of Mare Winningham's parent's house. It could be the same house from EX. It's even lit the same way.
Here's another strange element of SEF that I've noticed while rewatching in order to write about it. And I must confess, I'm growing tired of writing about it. The movie refuses to grow on me. It's just as dumb after the fifth watch as the first watch. But, we press on.
Now this seemed odd to me. Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy have very similar hair cuts in this movie. In fact, they're almost identical. Parted in the same spot and combed in the same direction. Why? Is Jules theory that Kevin is in love with Alec not all that off the mark; that is, if you view Ally as an "Alec" substitue? Alec and Leslie are even dressed similarly, Leslie often in rather masculine "yuppie" looks. Wearing Alec's pajamas in the one scene where we see them kiss.
Now this seemed odd to me. Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy have very similar hair cuts in this movie. In fact, they're almost identical. Parted in the same spot and combed in the same direction. Why? Is Jules theory that Kevin is in love with Alec not all that off the mark; that is, if you view Ally as an "Alec" substitue? Alec and Leslie are even dressed similarly, Leslie often in rather masculine "yuppie" looks. Wearing Alec's pajamas in the one scene where we see them kiss.
Is this Joel Schumacher's subtle way of working in a love triangle between three men; one of them a woman standing in for and thus becoming the true love interest? I don't think that's so far fetched. Here's an interesting idea: much like the characters on Gilligan's Island, are the characters in SEF arechetypes. Archetypes for the Seven Deadly Sins? Can we match up the characters from both to the sin they might represent? Let's try!
Judd Nelson as Alec Newbary I think is a close match to Thurston Howell:
GREED
Judd Nelson as Alec Newbary I think is a close match to Thurston Howell:
GREED
Jim Backus as Thurston Howell III
A bit of a rethink here. I think we need to post Demi Moore as "Jules" for Greed. Makes better sense.
A bit of a rethink here. I think we need to post Demi Moore as "Jules" for Greed. Makes better sense.
ENVY is clearly Andrew McCarthy as "Kevin." And he would match up with Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) from GI.
GLUTTONY, I think, would be Ally Sheedy's "Leslie." She wants stuff, including two guys at the same time. She would coincide with Gilligan (Bob Denver), who was always scarfing down coconut cream pies.
So then, Judd would match up with the Skipper (Alan Hale Jr.) and we'd have WRATH; as both were hot-heads and hitting Gilligan with their hat or giving Rob Lowe toilet swirlies (also, a scene I've never understood--would Rob really have let Judd do that and if he did, barely have any reaction to it? I mean, it's the toilet bowl in the bathroom of a college hang-out men's bathroom. WTF Alec?).
Those eyes! I hear and obey!
PRIDE: Mare Winningham as "Wendy" and The Professor. Or, rather, that's Russell Johnson as the professor, not Mare...and the rest...
LUST: Emilio Estevez as "Kirbo" and Tina Louise as Ginger.
And finally, SLOTH. Which brings us those the lay-abouts, Mrs. Howell (a.k.a. "Lovey" played by the ever delightful Natalie Schafer) and Rob Lowe's "Billy Hicks."
Rob Lowe as "Billy Hicks" has a cigarette in his hand in every official publicity photo for SEF. Interesting! Where there's smoke, there's theory...
There's also the theory that the characters of Gilligan's Island are trapped in some kind of limbo, which is why they can never get off the island. Can our Georgetown grads ever get out of Georgetown? I guess we'll have to explore that in a further blog. And other things, like, did Mare Winningham become pregnant when she hooked up with Rob Lowe in the movie? Now we're getting into Rosemary's Baby territory. But, as I said, I'm a little St. Elmoed out. But I will listen to Joel Schumacher's director's commentary to see if I can glean any further clues as I watch the movie again. In the meantime, here's a link to an article by Mr. Schumacher's co-writer, Carl Kurlander. And Carl, if you get hired to write the sequel which seems to be happening, and you need some ideas--you know I have a few! Call me!
There's also the theory that the characters of Gilligan's Island are trapped in some kind of limbo, which is why they can never get off the island. Can our Georgetown grads ever get out of Georgetown? I guess we'll have to explore that in a further blog. And other things, like, did Mare Winningham become pregnant when she hooked up with Rob Lowe in the movie? Now we're getting into Rosemary's Baby territory. But, as I said, I'm a little St. Elmoed out. But I will listen to Joel Schumacher's director's commentary to see if I can glean any further clues as I watch the movie again. In the meantime, here's a link to an article by Mr. Schumacher's co-writer, Carl Kurlander. And Carl, if you get hired to write the sequel which seems to be happening, and you need some ideas--you know I have a few! Call me!
Ciao!
CFR 10/01/24
CFR 10/01/24