Drool not droll
By: Don Simpson
Anora (Laura Harring) is the beautiful yet mousey southern belle wife to a verbally and physically abusive southern redneck husband, Cheb (Oded Fehr). One day Cheb leaves work early having become ill after giving his boss a blow job in order to keep his job at the local rubber plant. Upon his arrival at home, Cheb discovers Anora getting frisky in bed with their new African-American neighbor, Imogene (Jill Marie Jones). Cheb goes ballistic. Anora, apparently in self-defense, shoots Cheb. Imogene packs Cheb’s corpse into the trunk of her purple sedan. Anora and her two children – Tabby (Ashley Duggan Smith) and Little Pete (Christopher Newhouse) – hop in Imogene’s car and they head to Savannah, Georgia.
OK, I have some questions, problems and concerns…
Did Cheb’s actions justify his murder? Once Anora had possession of the gun, did she not also have the power? (I suspect even Anora doubts the murder was justified since she runs away rather than alerting the police.)
My best guess is that the murder is supposed to represent Anora’s empowerment; however, even after the murder Anora remains the absolute personification of the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of weak: “Wanting in moral strength for endurance or resistance; lacking fortitude or courage, strength of purpose or will; unsteadfast, wavering.” Does Anora really have to be so disturbingly (and annoyingly) spineless and feeble even after gaining her independence from Cheb?
The murder appears to be the catalyst to force Anora and the kids on the road for some wild and crazy fun with Imogene; but nothing exciting or interesting happens on their road trip. Once they arrive in Savannah, still nothing exciting or interesting happens. Sure, Cheb needed to be out of the picture in order for Anora and the kids to hit the road with Imogene, but did Anora really need to murder him? The only purpose the murder serves in this story is that it gives the characters an excuse to drive around in a purple car with a dead body in the trunk. Unfortunately, the comedic elements of these events were left on the side of the highway as road kill.
Imogene is the next problem. First of all, I find the writing for this character to be offensively stereotypical. Imogene serves two purposes in Drool: comic relief and to serve as the target for racist slurs (Cheb, Tabby and Little Pete all refer to her using the “n” word). When Tabby and Little Pete use the “n” word, they are immediately slapped by Anora yet no explanation is provided to them to explain why that word warranted physical violence.
The lesbian relationship between Imogene and Anora also begs questioning. The motivation for their romantic relationship is never revealed; and the development of their relationship is also neglected. Imogene and Anora occasionally kiss or touch each other’s hands, but are they really lesbians? (Did Drool really deserve to be screened at the 2009 Outfest Film Festival and the 2009 Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival?) Our only clue that they might indeed become lesbian lovers appears as the final line of the film.
And the children…Tabby functions as the part-time narrator of this tale (a storytelling tactic that comes off disjointing and inconsistent, not to mention purposeless). To add a little off-beat humor to the mix, Tabby draws clever caricatures of her family and friends which often become animated. There are a couple early scenes concerning a boy (Dalton Alfortish) at school and his love for blow jobs that prompt Tabby to become a queen bitch – a role that she keeps for the remaining hour of the film. Tabby is not only easy and stupid, but she is also annoying.
The Little Pete character is confusing; but maybe that is because he is confused. He likes playing with dolls, using make-up and stares dreamily at his male teacher. We can only assume that Little Pete is destined to become a gay man, but we will never know since his character is never developed.
Harring was excellent in Mulholland Dr. and Inland Empire, but her performance in Drool is absolutely ridiculous. Of course, her character Anora’s faults are all due to Nancy Kissam's offensive and superficial writing and directionless directing.
