The Manipulator

Sometimes I wonder what movie stars think when they look back on some of their work. I mean I can see Christopher Lee looking back on Lord of the Rings and thinking, “that's a mighty fine piece of cinema. I'm fortunate to have been able to be a part of that.” But what about Mickey Rooney looking back on The Manipulator. Maybe it was fun to shoot, maybe it sounded like an unusual but interesting idea when he got the script, but I have a hard time believing he looks back at the finished product with pride.

B.J. is a director - at least in his warped mind he is. He barks out directions to people that don't actually exist as he, in his delusional fantasy, films an epic movie. His star is the only one who is real, a girl he keeps bound to a wheelchair and threatens if she doesn't properly perform her lines. Carlotta struggles to escape before she starves to death but remains at the mercy of B.J.

The movie is all about surreal images from BJ's delusions, loony rants, and repetitive dialogue. It gets long, boring, and annoying. There's no development, story, character information, or anything else that makes a good movie. Essentially some escape attempts and chases that might be a small part of a well-rounded movie are stretched out to an hour and a half for this one.

The actors might have been good if given any decent material to work with. Instead the long monologues get tedious and the repeated lines get annoying. The flashes of BJ's insanity aren't done well enough to be interesting and when they they look like they might be they end up drawn out so long that they lose what little attention they might have grabbed.

Besides that, who wants to see Mickey Rooney in drag? You'll also get to see him dance and sing in fast forward. He does come across as crazy, but that by itself doesn't make a good movie. The crazy scenes are punctuated by a terrible soundtrack. It's more likely to give you a headache than create a sense of tension.

MORALITY:

There is a weird naked couple at the beginning. We flash to them several times in one of B.J.'s delusions. This includes some lingering shots on the guy's wedding tackle. Later on a naked girl shows up in the background for some quick flashes. She's easy to miss. None of the nudity is sexual.

There are a couple of moments of violence, and the whole movie is based around holding Carlotta captive and occasionally terrorizing her. There are also some shots of stuff like meat hanging.

The strong language is mild.

SPIRITUALITY:

I could feel sorry for B.J. trapped in his delusions if not for his treatment of an innocent victim.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I was ready to give this one a chance. Even though I could tell right from the start it wasn't going to be great I held out hope that it would at least be moderately entertaining if only because it promised to be strange, even crazy. Not so much. I really think this one is best avoided.

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