Release Date:
06/16/2000
Based on a collection of short stories, Jesus’ Son follows the hazy, drug-fueled misadventures of a ’70s junkie named FuckHead. And, yes, Dennis Hopper is in it, since there’s obviously a law in Hollywood requiring his frazzled presence in every drug movie since Easy Rider.
Like the book on which it is based, Jesus’ Son unfolds in anecdotes loosely connected by the main character. It’s as if you’re listening to this guy tell you a long, involved story—complete with obvious embellishments, hurried back-tracking, and strange tangents. Although this sounds too annoyingly hip for its own good, “drug movie” pitfalls are avoided. Instead of taking either the Trainspotting route (making the addicts cool and charismatic) or the Rush route (making the story bleak and unwatchable), Jesus’ Son manages to balance the pathos and the humor in “FH’s” sadly ordinary life, taking a route more darkly humorous than, but similar to, Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy.
The credit lies with the cast: Billy Crudup deserves to be a superstar after this role, in which he portrays FH as a guy who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed even before the drugs. His dopey, sweet manner makes his fuckups all the more heartbreaking. Samantha Morton, as the girl who introduced him to heroin, is both attractive and scary at the same time. And some big names show up in small but memorable parts: Denis Leary tones it down to play a beaten-by-life cowboy, Holly Hunter is a tragic, partially-paralyzed baggage cart, who’s been married more times than Elizabeth Taylor and Billy Bob Thornton combined. Jack Black wins the “Why The Hell Isn’t This Guy More Famous?” award in his role as a hilariously fried hospital orderly. Oh, and did we mention Dennis Hopper…
Like the book on which it is based, Jesus’ Son unfolds in anecdotes loosely connected by the main character. It’s as if you’re listening to this guy tell you a long, involved story—complete with obvious embellishments, hurried back-tracking, and strange tangents. Although this sounds too annoyingly hip for its own good, “drug movie” pitfalls are avoided. Instead of taking either the Trainspotting route (making the addicts cool and charismatic) or the Rush route (making the story bleak and unwatchable), Jesus’ Son manages to balance the pathos and the humor in “FH’s” sadly ordinary life, taking a route more darkly humorous than, but similar to, Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy.
The credit lies with the cast: Billy Crudup deserves to be a superstar after this role, in which he portrays FH as a guy who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed even before the drugs. His dopey, sweet manner makes his fuckups all the more heartbreaking. Samantha Morton, as the girl who introduced him to heroin, is both attractive and scary at the same time. And some big names show up in small but memorable parts: Denis Leary tones it down to play a beaten-by-life cowboy, Holly Hunter is a tragic, partially-paralyzed baggage cart, who’s been married more times than Elizabeth Taylor and Billy Bob Thornton combined. Jack Black wins the “Why The Hell Isn’t This Guy More Famous?” award in his role as a hilariously fried hospital orderly. Oh, and did we mention Dennis Hopper…