Fast, Cheap and Out of Control

• Director: Errol Morris
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Culture & Society
• Movie Type: Sociology, Biography
• Themes: Finding the Cure, Obsessive Quests
• Main Cast: Rodney Brooks, Dave Hoover, Ray Mendez, George Mendonca
• Release Year: 1997
• Country: US
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• MPAA Rating: PG

Plot

Innovative documentary filmmaker Errol Morris often finds a startling surreal edge in the midst of reality, seeking unique subjects, and discovering humor and pathos in odd, off-the-beaten-path locales. After Morris attracted attention with his memorable look at pet owners and pet cemeteries in Gates of Heaven (1978), he traveled into a backwash of quirky humor by filming Floridians in Vernon, Florida (1981). His controversial The Thin Blue Line (1988) helped free the innocent Randall Adams from prison. Morris ventured into drama with The Dark Wind (1991), and he also made a biographical profile of Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time (1992). Now Morris returns with a film he described as "four versions of the myth of Sisyphus." Four eccentrics talk about their seemingly diverse lives, interests, and offbeat occupations: Lion tamer Dave Hoover, following paths trod by his hero Clyde Beatty, offers some curious theories about wild animal thought processes; topiary gardener George Mendo clips hedges to create giraffes, bears, and other creatures; mole-rat specialist Ray Mendez researches the insect-like behavior of these hairless, buck-toothed mammals; robotics scientist Rodney Brooks assembles autonomous robots. Morris finds thematic connections relating the four. While Hoover and Mendo provide footnotes on the fading American scene, Mendez and Brooks look to the future. Contrasting viewpoints are edited into an essay on existence and the human condition, incorporating Morris' reflection on his recently departed parents. Morris and cinematographer Bob Richardson employed a variety of film formats -- black-and-white, color, 35mm, Super-8, and 16mm. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Review

Not the study of loose women or binge drug users one might expect from the title, Fast, Cheap & Out of Control is an engaging, if meandering, take on four quirky men whose unconventional jobs are their lives. Their earnest devotion is priceless, and acclaimed documentarist Errol Morris captures them at work with all manner of loving camerawork. Especially ethereal in its beauty are the shots of George Mendo sculpting the shrubs with his hedge clippers, which covers for the fact that he's the most reticent of the four subjects. The others more than make up for it with their eager, enlightening job descriptions, which the images flesh out expertly. Even at a scant 80 minutes, however, the film feels a little long because of its lack of forward momentum. Morris intercuts the scenes with great fluidity, but without identifiable purpose. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control also feels a little self-important when it tries too hard to suggest a connection between the four jobs and a framing device of circus footage, which looks nice but doesn't seem to amplify the themes. Still, these are minor quibbles; the dominant impression of Fast, Cheap & Out of Control is of stylish documentary filmmaking that reflects outside-the-box thinking. One can sense the kinship Morris feels for his subjects, since he himself is at the top of his own unique craft. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Cast

Rodney Brooks - Robot Scientist; Dave Hoover - Wild Animal Trainer; Ray Mendez - Mole-Rat Specialist; George Mendonca - Topiary Gardener

Credit

Mark Lipson - Co-producer, Julia Sheehan - Co-producer, Kathy Trustman - Co-producer, Eric Korsh - First Assistant Director, Thomas Burke - First Assistant Director, Errol Morris - Director, Shondra Merrill - Editor, Karen Schmeer - Editor, Lidsay Law - Executive Producer, Caleb Sampson - Songwriter, Ted Basaloukos - Production Designer, Robert Richardson - Cinematographer, Errol Morris - Producer, Scott Doonan - Set Designer, Fred Burnham - Sound/Sound Designer, Scott Benes - Sound/Sound Designer

Similar Movies

Gates of Heaven; The Dark Wind; Hands on a Hard Body; Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.; The Fine Art of Separating People From Their Money; Cinemania; Artist and the Shaman; Protagonist

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