Inherent Vice, Wolfcop Extra Thoughts

Just two brief notes on my recent posts:

I suppose I left this out of my Inherent Vice review, but the principal sex scene is one of the worst I have ever seen. Now, I'm sure it's intentional on PTA's part, but it's hard to over-sell how bad it is. I wish I could find a clip of the moment, but in its absence, let me just describe:

Shasta appears naked before Doc. He's stunned by the site of her "nudery," and she begins to talk. Everything that Shasta says is like a text-book lesso in turning people off. She asks him what kind of woman he wants, which is already awkward for two estranged lovers, but she follows it up by talking about her sugar daddy, Mickey Wolfmann.

She talks about how he was an inconsiderate lover who could make a girl feel "invisible" (read: five thrusts and he's done and who cares if she climaxed). Then she talks about how Mickey flaunted her, how he practically owned her, and how he used to make her... gratify his friends and acquaintances.

You would think that the element that makes this an embarrassing sex scene would be how quick it is, how brief a time it goes on before Doc reaches orgasm. Instead, it's embarrassing because Shasta starts out by telling him to screw her like someone else used to screw her, then she doubles-down by describing herself as Doc's "used-up, whored-out ex-girlfriend." Just the fact that Doc goes for it is shameful - and he has a (semi-decent) girlfriend at the time.

I can't imagine not turning a woman down in such circumstances... but it feels even more degrading for Doc. For all his drugged-put stupidity, he's still pure of heart - and his feelings for Shasta are not limited to shallow "would bang" sentiments.

Also: the law firm of "Voorhees-Kreuger?" Gotta be f--king kidding me.

Regarding Wolfcop, I should've noted that at many times, its technical crew may be accused of showing off. It's an instance where the practical effects are totally worth-while and well-done, but you can almost imagine them staging specific moments just to demonstrate how good their work is. I was glad for it, and I wish I'd made more of a point of it in my actual review.