2008 Woodie Awards
'Mail order' fun
Dan Russell
Issue date: 10/6/05 Section: Arts & Life
With "March of the Penguins" and "Fahrenheit 9/11," documentaries have finally found a home in mainstream cinema.
That doesn't change the fact that every year obscure titles come out and are immediately lost in the shuffle of unoriginality and banality.
However, "Mail Order Wife" never has to worry about this problem, however wacky or overdone it becomes.
Following Adrian Martinez on his quest to arrange a mail-order bride and the perils that follow, things become complicated as Martinez begins to abuse his randomly selected bride Lichi (Eugenina Yuan), and the film's co-director Andrew Gurland becomes personally involved.
"Mail Order Wife" is really a mocumentary, where nearly everything is scripted - the documentary version of what the WWF is for sports.
While its scripted nature takes away some fun, it certainly helps lessen the shocking elements, such as early on when Martinez forces Lichi to star in his own personal sex video.
At first, this might not seem like prime material for a supposed laugh-out-loud comedy.
However, "Mail Order Wife" never becomes truly offensive or just plain unwatchable.
Although it may not be as "darkly funny" and "hilarious" as some early critics' sound bites would lead us to believe, it knows when to stop pushing for laughs and gasps when there are none left to be found, thanks in part to its deadpan style.
Presented in a similar fashion as TV's "Arrested Development" or some segments from "The Daily Show," it stays within its own world onscreen.
As events become more ridiculous, it becomes clear none of it's real, but that doesn't stop director Andrew Gurland from going all-out both on camera and behind it.
A good portion of his "documentary" focuses on Gurland's relationship with Lichi, where things become pretty twisted, and the story evolves beyond a stale joke that could have become old fast.
Though nowhere near hilarious, at least "Mail Order Wife" is not painfully unfunny. It juggles ideas and new twists to remain relatively fresh throughout its fairly brief 92-minute runtime.
Much of the humor is also aimed at differences between American and Asian cultures and the stereotypical absurdities of both.
Though it's possible some could see these stereotypes as racist, the fact that directors Botko and Gurland aim at all groups and ethnicities help prove they aren't out to attack anyone specifically.
Visually, there isn't much to say.
"Mail Order Wife" isn't a technical marvel, and overall is a standard-looking film full of the trademarks of a documentary (fake or not), such as bad lighting, sloppy camera work and hectic focusing.
The acting, though, is completely believable, and, if not for a few moments, the line between documentary and mocumentary would have been completely blurred.
Critic's Conclusion: A mildly amusing "mocumentary" about ordering a wife from overseas, this twisted film wins points for originality, even if it borders more on occasionally intriguing than downright hilarious.
Three stars out of five.
That doesn't change the fact that every year obscure titles come out and are immediately lost in the shuffle of unoriginality and banality.
However, "Mail Order Wife" never has to worry about this problem, however wacky or overdone it becomes.
Following Adrian Martinez on his quest to arrange a mail-order bride and the perils that follow, things become complicated as Martinez begins to abuse his randomly selected bride Lichi (Eugenina Yuan), and the film's co-director Andrew Gurland becomes personally involved.
"Mail Order Wife" is really a mocumentary, where nearly everything is scripted - the documentary version of what the WWF is for sports.
While its scripted nature takes away some fun, it certainly helps lessen the shocking elements, such as early on when Martinez forces Lichi to star in his own personal sex video.
At first, this might not seem like prime material for a supposed laugh-out-loud comedy.
However, "Mail Order Wife" never becomes truly offensive or just plain unwatchable.
Although it may not be as "darkly funny" and "hilarious" as some early critics' sound bites would lead us to believe, it knows when to stop pushing for laughs and gasps when there are none left to be found, thanks in part to its deadpan style.
Presented in a similar fashion as TV's "Arrested Development" or some segments from "The Daily Show," it stays within its own world onscreen.
As events become more ridiculous, it becomes clear none of it's real, but that doesn't stop director Andrew Gurland from going all-out both on camera and behind it.
A good portion of his "documentary" focuses on Gurland's relationship with Lichi, where things become pretty twisted, and the story evolves beyond a stale joke that could have become old fast.
Though nowhere near hilarious, at least "Mail Order Wife" is not painfully unfunny. It juggles ideas and new twists to remain relatively fresh throughout its fairly brief 92-minute runtime.
Much of the humor is also aimed at differences between American and Asian cultures and the stereotypical absurdities of both.
Though it's possible some could see these stereotypes as racist, the fact that directors Botko and Gurland aim at all groups and ethnicities help prove they aren't out to attack anyone specifically.
Visually, there isn't much to say.
"Mail Order Wife" isn't a technical marvel, and overall is a standard-looking film full of the trademarks of a documentary (fake or not), such as bad lighting, sloppy camera work and hectic focusing.
The acting, though, is completely believable, and, if not for a few moments, the line between documentary and mocumentary would have been completely blurred.
Critic's Conclusion: A mildly amusing "mocumentary" about ordering a wife from overseas, this twisted film wins points for originality, even if it borders more on occasionally intriguing than downright hilarious.
Three stars out of five.