FREAKS AND GEEKS [1999]

I stated in the opening blurb to this blog that while I would be looking at a lot of material that deals with clowns, killer and otherwise, I would also be delving into other ideas that are thematically relevant.  The idea here isn't just to share a bunch of reviews; it's to give anyone who is interested an overall flavour for the project I am writing (currently titled Stitches, but that may change).  This is a killer clown movie, so obviously, a lot of what I share here will be to do with that.  But the killer clown is our antagonist.  What of our protagonists?
  A good movie is about one of two things; people and/or boobs.  Ours, unfortunately, focuses more on people.  It doesn't matter how many cool deaths you have, if the people in danger aren't worth caring for, then your movie isn't worth caring for.  Outside of our titular psychopath, the main characters in Stitches are teenagers (which instinctively makes you want them to die).  They are a bunch of friends in school, and like any such group, for every moment of laughter and banter, there is one of tension and rivalry.  As such, it is important to study examples where this has been done particularly well, and one my main points of reference is a 1999 American TV series called Freaks and Geeks.

Freaks and Geeks ran for one season back at the turn of the century.  It consists of eighteen episodes and focuses on the lives of various students at William McKinley High School during their 1980-81 term.  While the show centres on the characters of Linday Weir (Linda Cardellini) and her brother Sam (John Francis Daly), these are just our in-points: Linday and her friends being the 'freaks,' Sam and his, the 'geeks.'  Once we meet these groups, the show essential becomes an ensemble piece.

  The series was created by Paul Feig and was executive produced by Judd Apatow before he hit the big time with The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and a whole bunch of mediocre crap.  The show attracted a major amount of young talent.  If you were to film this today, with this cast, you would need a hefty budget.  James Franco and Seth Rogan are the two biggest names to emerge from the series, but the show also launched the careers of Jason Segal, Linda Cardellini, and many of the other leads (and several supporting characters) have gone on to achieve moderate success (moderate in the light of my own staggering achievements).  It's kind of strange when you first start watching it, because you see all of these familiar faces looking so damn young (except for James Franco, who sold his soul to the same deity as Johnny Depp, as he looks practically the same).

One of the great things about Freaks and Geeks is its authenticity.  This isn't an über-glamorous Beverley Hills high school where every class is populated by super-wealthy supermodels (like where I went to school).  Nor is it an all too knowing take on adolescence, where everyone talks like neurotics with degrees in sociology.  This series tries, and succeeds, at presenting a realistic world as seen from the point of view of high school teens.  It perfectly captures the innocence of that period in our lives when we are torn between the blithe freedom of the children we were, and the impending responsibility of the adult we are becoming.
  Rather than cast people in their mid-twenties, the producers tried to cast as close to age as possible, and this is one of the series biggest successes.  These guys look like kids and talk like kids.  This verisimilitude brings a level of realism that no amount of de-aging make-up can achieve.  The naivete of the young performers shines through in their characters, and completely sucks you into their worlds.

  This isn't a depressingly ersatz take on high school life where everyone is gorgeous with perfect hair.  Even though there are some very attractive future stars in this show, all of that is played down.  These are just ordinary people, but don't confuse ordinary with boring.  There are no one note characters here.  You truly get to know these people as the story unfolds.  They are all complicated creatures, plagued as they are with teenage doubts and insecurities.  None of them have figured out who they are yet, and those that think they have, well, they have some surprises in store.

  In terms of an overriding series narrative, there isn't one.  This isn't a programme you watch for complex plot machinations, you watch it so that you can laugh and cry with the characters.  You find yourself loving and hating people at different times.  Sometimes they feel like your best friend, then they say or do something that you don't approve of, and you find yourself at odds with them.  I constantly felt like these people were my friends; that I was one of the gang, taking different sides as my mood dictated.  You are at the centre of all of these friendships.  The group dynamics, both internally, and in how they groups themselves interact with one another, are brilliantly realised.  This is all down to both great characters, and the quality of the performances.

  What really resonates about Freaks and Geeks is that it doesn't matter that it's an American high school in the eighties.  Its not about a specific place and period, but a time in our lives.  Even though many of the frames of reference are different, they are only superficially so.  They play softball, I played gaelic.  They have audio visual club, I helped set up the school web page and was teller in the school bank (I was one of the cool kids).  What translates best here is what matters.  It's the universal struggle to figure out who we are.  I doesn't matter if that's in school or looking at our place in the universe; it's always the big question.  All of that, it's great fun!

  When I watched the penultimate episode of Freaks and Geeks, I felt quite mellon chollie and the infitine sadness.  I deliberately put off watching the final show, as I knew it would be the last time I got to hang out with these people.  The only other series I ever felt that for was The Mysterious Cities of Gold!  In a world where we have Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Peep Show, Arrested Development, and countless other great TV series, I would put Freaks and Geeks in my top ten.  It's such a shame it was cancelled, but at least we got this much.  I really loved this show!

Judd Apatow went on to make a series called Undeclared, which I haven't seen yet, but seems to be a college version of Freaks and Geeks.  While it is not a direct sequel - it doesn't feature the same characters - it does feature much of the same cast.  I'm looking forward to acquainting myself with it!

  I hope that with Stitches, we can achieve something on a par what they did with Freaks and Geeks.  If our characters can live and breath as they do here, I will happily kill them off one by one, knowing that they have earned the life we are so gleefully taking away from them!
  To close, and just to keep things thematically relevant, here's a great image of some killer clowns:

Next up, it's about time I watched a Zombie movie.