Films With War Themes Are Victims of Bad Timing
By Anne Thompson
October 17, 2002

A cataclysmic event can change the fate of a movie. One example is "The Quiet American," which following Sept. 11, 2001, morphed from hot Oscar prospect to problem child.

An exploitation movie like Phone Booth gets cancelled because it reflects a current tragedy too closely; probably a good move, considering it seems like just a lurid entertainment. But then there are movies like The Quiet American and Buffallo Soldiers, which were meant as critiques of the US of A's military culture; they got canned after September 11, when their distributors feared they might be considered "unpatriotic" in the new, retaliation-demanding climate. Here's some kind of injustice, or of contradiction at least, wouldn't you say?

A year later the movies are still in the can. One of them is getting a limited release to qualify for the Oscars and will get released next year; the other is being retooled to make it seem less agresive to the military. Still, with war against Iraq seemingly around the corner, and considering the themes and plots of these movies, don't they sound like the kind we need these days?

... ["The Quiet American"'s director, Phillip Noyce:] "In the end, the audience has to at least condone the execution of the American character for crimes against humanity..." [Its] title character, a charismatic intelligence officer played by Brendan Fraser, sponsors terrorist acts that kill scores of innocent Vietnamese.

"There will be people who are sensitive about seeing the American point of view presented as less than sympathetic," said Sydney Pollack, a producer of the movie.

...

"Buffalo Soldiers," from the Australian writer and director Gregor Jordan, is a rambunctious military comedy, which, according to one critic, "makes 'M*A*S*H' look like a recruitment video." The film stars Scott Glenn as a Vietnam vet who in 1989 cleans up a thriving black market in West Germany run by an Army private (Joaquin Phoenix)...

... [Mr. Jordan:] "Before 9/11 the world was a safer and happier place where people were not thinking about war. Now they're thinking about it every day. The film says that the American Army and armies around the world are full of psychopaths whose aim is to go out and kill people."

Last Sunday I watched Comedy Central's movie of the week, Porn 'n Chicken. (The reverse cowgirl gave a thumbs up to Comedy Central's effort, if not to the final product.) It was an OK way to waste two hours of the evening, but nothing special. Still, it brought memories of the first time I heard about the Porn 'n Chicken club and their amateur porno, The StaXXX, on Plastic. So I decided to look for those stories, and now I'd like to share what I've found: the true story of The StaXXX and the making of Porn 'n Chicken. Enjoy.