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Come Back to the 5 & Dime,
Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)
Rate:
2
Viewed:
7/18
7/18:
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a ridiculously long title for a film.
It was mentioned in a book by Don Graham called Giant: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Edna Ferber, and the Making
of a Legendary American Film which provided the behind-the-scenes story of how the eponymous
epic picture was made and also the biographies of the three main stars, most especially James Dean. Within the year
after James Dean died in an automobile crash in 1955, there were over four million members, the vast majority being teenager girls,
enrolled in various clubs in the memory of him, and they were called "Deaners."
It wouldn't take long for James Dean to be transformed into an icon due to the strength of his acting in only three films:
Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, and
Giant. He became the symbol of the Beatnik generation
that's perfectly described in Jack Kerouac's book On the Road. Therefore, it's not difficult to understand why there
existed a play that revolved around a James Dean club which was founded and run by local females. Penned by Ed Graczyk, it
didn't do well in the theater, receiving bad critical notices, and had a short run overall.
Unfortunately, Robert Altman ignored all of that by deciding to film it which was meant to stay within the confines of the
stage. The movie is abysmally bad and full of loony hens who don't know the meaning of friendship or the art of conversation.
They just want to turn into bitches and backstab each other with mean-spirited words and made-up stories. The film is hard to follow
while I'm trying to put up with the nonsensical dialogue and stagy acting. However, that's the point of it as explained by the playwright:
"[The play] can only be described as the result of my own observations and frustrations with progress that ignores a past; the
lack of personalization and pride and the recurring need of people to build facades to conceal the truths of their lives. It
is the facade that makes abnormal people seem normal and the sad people seem happy."
Of the cast, I thought the selection of Karen Black as the transvestite character was dead-on because she had always been an
odd-looking woman with crossed, buggy eyes. On the other hand, I didn't know Kathy Bates' career went that far back. Regardless,
the failure of the film didn't stop Robert Altman from his personal quest of directing more movie adaptations of stage plays
throughout the 80's, causing him to drop out of Hollywood's pantheon of great directors.
All in all, I can imagine James Dean, if he saw Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, oddly laughing
and going, "What the fuck is this bullshit?"