| Review |
| Commentary track |
| LIKED "FIGHT CLUB," "PULP FICTION?" TRY "FACEvalue." by Debra Neff Nathans Special to The Capital Times "FACEvalue" is kind of a cross between the TV show "Making the Band" and the movie "Fight Club." It's graphically violent, it's disturbing, it's quite funny, and I think I liked it. "FACEvalue," currently at Broom Street Theater, is a play about a boy band on a murderous rampage. As if the Backstreet Boys were to introduce new band members Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. Carl, the "smart one" (Steve Van Haren), narrates. In a loose style, as though reading out loud from a screenplay, he introduces each member of the band. Artie (Ethan Mutz) is the "funny one," a Republican, gun-loving band member who refers to the media as the JRM, which stands for Jew Run Media. Earl (Kevin French) is the "wild one," forced to stay in the closet by the band's omniscient manager, West Covina Gloria Harding (Betsy Matsushita). Nathan Caracter plays F.Z., the "cute one," who needs to take female hormones to calm his aggressive and violent tendencies. There are some clever boy band bits. I particularly enjoyed the synchronized, boy-band style dancing, and the Eminem jokes, among them that Eminem has left the rap music scene to co-star on "Thomas the Tank Engine." I also enjoyed writer and director Rob Matsushita's loose, informal writing style, which takes the audience in and out of scenes simply by telling them where they are and when. He does this seamlessly, which gives the play a strong sense of structure and balance. I tried to count the bodies in the second act, but lost track after a while. They just kept piling up. Scott Feiner's sound design is impressive, particularly in a scene that involves a drill and a shower toward the end of the play. There are several car and plane crashes. It is effectively desensitizing, in the same way that the movie "Pulp Fiction" is. Matsushita makes some valid and funny points in the first act about the way the advertising, music, news media and entertainment industries work together. The story is engrossing in a disgusting sort of way, and if you liked "Pulp Fiction" and "Fight Club," you probably would like "FACEvalue" as well. I liked them all. Van Haren does an excellent job as the lead character and narrator. He makes abundant use of a lethal raised eyebrow, and has an absorbing intensity as the play develops. I enjoyed Caracter's unhinged performance as "the cute one." Mutz is equally scary because he's crazy and he's packing. French does a good job showing how his character closets himself. Betsy Matsushita does an excellent job playing an experienced manager who knows where all the bodies are buried. She is sometimes angry, sometimes exasperated, but completely unshockable, and never without a plan. I liked her tough exterior and the suggestion of boy toys. Do not miss the "FACEvalue" Web site, www.oocities.org/fvalue2001/, which has more details about the play, the fictional band, and some pictures. --June 24, 2001 |
| Oddly, I don't really have anything to complain about--she compares it to both Pulp Fiction (which everything that has a gun in it will always be compared to) and Fight Club. I do wish she hadn't given so much of it away. Oh well. |