JESUS' SON —*** — Billy Crudup, Samantha Morton, Jack Black, Holly Hunter, Denis Leary, Dennis Hopper, Greg Germann, Will Patton; rated R (drug use, profanity, violence, nudity, brief sex, gore); exclusively at the Loews Cineplex Broadway Centre Cinemas.
Substance abuse is no laughing matter, yet "Jesus' Son" gets a lot of mileage out of that subject by treating it in a less-than-serious manner.
But make no mistake, this is no lighthearted, drug-culture romp ( la the old Cheech and Chong movies or the more recent, aptly titled "Half Baked"). Instead, its humor is rather dark. And to be quite honest, despite what appears to be a fairly cheeky approach to the material, it winds up becoming a cautionary tale.
The as-moving-as-they-are-exasperating results are something quite different from the downbeat, dreary, anti-drug parables we're used to seeing ("Drugstore Cowboy," for example). That, plus a good cast (which includes Billy Crudup and recent Oscar nominee Samantha Morton), makes the film worth seeing.
However, this is not a perfect work. For one thing, it rambles so far from the main story line that you wonder if it's ever getting to get back to it.
But you do have to give points to the filmmakers for trying to adapt what is in essence an "unadaptable" work, acclaimed author Denis Johnson's often incoherent, semi-autobiographical tales.
The main character is an unnamed twentysomething drifter (Crudup) who ends up in the Midwest during the early 1970s. There, he finds himself getting hooked on drugs, and he meets Michelle (Morton), a fellow junkie who is trying to go straight. That's not easy, though, especially when Crudup's character, known as "FH" (an abbreviation for a longer, fouler nickname) falls in with some rather unsavory characters, among them a crazed, pill-popping orderly (Jack Black) and an alcoholic divorcee (Denis Leary).
But FH does manage to maintain his optimistic, almost childlike way of dealing with tragedy, which comes in handy as often as tragedy seems to occur.
The one thing he can't deal with, though, is when the now-pregnant Michelle leaves him because it's become clear to her that he doesn't intend to shape up. That sends him into an even deeper spiral, from which he may not be able to recover.
Among the most creaky storytelling crutches for filmmakers is the explanatory voiceover. However, for once, the narration seems necessary, as it explains exactly why we're shown certain scenes and why they're shown in a particular order.
It's one of a couple of particularly shrewd moves by director Alison Maclean (the Canadian indie "Crush" and some television work) and a trio of screenwriters, for whom the film is clearly a work of love.
Of course, it still might not work but for Crudup, who is the glue that holds it all together. This demanding part is probably the finest of his screen work, though he receives ample support from Morton, Black and Leary, among others.
"Jesus' Son" is rated R for scenes depicting drug use (including heroin, marijuana and amphetamines), strong profanity, violence (fistfights and scuffles), female nudity, a brief, graphic sex scene and gore. Running time: 108 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com