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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW SOU's Academia Latina program helps incoming high schoolers learning to lead ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, Aug. 8 ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Affirmative actions ... SOU's Academia Latina program helps incoming high schoolers learning to lead ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, Aug. 8 ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Affirmative actions ... Movie review: Hazy, crazy Thomas Pynchon novel 'Inherent Vice' makes it to the screen Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jan. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Jan. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News By Ed Symkus More Content Now A slinky woman pays a call to and asks a favor of a private detective. We’ve seen or read this kind of start in countless noir novels and movies before. But the people and goings on in “Inherent Vice” are different, very different, from anything we’ve seen or read before. The distinction here is that Shasta Fay (Katherine Waterston) isn’t a stranger off the street; she’s the detective’s ex-girlfriend. And Doc (Joaquin Phoenix) isn’t the usual hardboiled, world-weary private investigator; he’s kinda laid back, due to the fact that it isn’t tobacco that’s he’s constantly smoking. Nope, he’s a true blue pot head. “Inherent Vice,” based on the convoluted and funny novel by Thomas Pynchon, is the newest convoluted and funny film from writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson. Funny isn’t a word usually associated with either of these artists – among Pynchon’s works are “Gravity’s Rainbow” and “The Crying of Lot 49”; Anderson’s films include “Magnolia” and “There Will Be Blood.” I haven’t read this Pynchon book, but I can attest to the film’s combination of darkness and oddball humor, some of it subtle, some of it broad. Let’s call it a noir comedy. But it’s really more of an exercise in mood. An off-screen narrator pops in and out to help guide viewers through the seedy, mostly nighttime world of 1970 Los Angeles. But I had plenty of fun entering the film’s 148-minute running time, then getting lost in and absorbed by it. There have already been comparisons to other Los Angeles-based period pieces involving shady criminal dealings, such as “The Long Goodbye” and “L.A. Confidential.” But while both of those films stand on their own as classics, “Inherent Vice” (the title is explained ... sort of ... something to do with life’s inevitabilities, like eggs breaking or chocolate melting) takes the genre a step further. Doc, terrifically played by Phoenix with a glassy-eyed haziness and a ration of common sense still sticking through, is asked by Shasta Fay to find someone who’s gone missing. But the constantly wending plot eventually has him searching for three different people who, of course, turn out to be loosely connected. But while all of that’s going on, word comes to Doc that someone is also looking for him. That would be an L.A. cop nicknamed Bigfoot (Josh Brolin), who earned that name because of the obvious joy he gets out of kicking down people’s doors. Doc, sometimes against his will, remains at the center of everything that’s going on, and Phoenix manages to keep him standing tall among the strange and strangely named characters that swirl around him (among them, Petunia Leeway, Buddy Tubeside, Sauncho Smilax, Adrian Prussia, and Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd – played with cocaine-fueled fervor by Martin Short). But it’s banana-eating Bigfoot, with his flattop haircut, stylish suits, and tough-guy demeanor (hilariously reversed when he’s seen at home with his demanding wife) who’s the most memorable. A word to anyone who’s approaching this film with some trepidation: I’ve already seen it twice, and I’m not exactly sure if I could explain the whole plot in any coherent manner. Even on that second viewing, I was still caught off guard when Reese Witherspoon first appears onscreen as a deputy district attorney, or when missing jazz man Owen Wilson initially emerges from the shadows. And I once again was knocked out by a casual but steamy sex scene near the end. But this ended up being my favorite film of the year (it had a limited December release so it’s from 2014). I still don’t know why, but it might have something to do with the off-screen demise of one of the characters. The cause, says a different character: “He perished in a trampoline accident.” Dark, but funny. Ed Symkus covers movies for More Content Now. INHERENT VICE Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson With Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Owen Wilson, Martin Short, Reese Witherspoon Rated R DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jan. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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