Movie Review: Inherent Vice

3.5 stars out of 5

Twenty years ago, maybe a little more, I picked up a used copy of V. by Thomas Pynchon. I tried to read it, I really did. I like to see things through, you know? But it was really tough going; hard to understand. At some point, I put the bookmark in, put the book down… and I never picked it up again. It was the first time I ever did that, not finishing a book, and I felt kind of ashamed. But it was also strangely liberating. Have only done it once more (sorry, Howard Zinn), so the experience has stayed with me. And I’ve never attempted to read another word by Thomas Pynchon.

Yesterday, I saw Inherent Vice, based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon, and I can proudly say that I sat through the whole thing. I liked it, in fact! Now, did I understand it? No I did not.

This was written and directed by good ol’ Paul Thomas Anderson. Since 1997, I’ve seen each of his movies in the theater. I like P.T. Anderson! He makes good, interesting films. Some people didn’t like The Master — they didn’t “get it” — but I sure did. I loved it. Mm-hmm!

With Inherent Vice, is there anything to get? I’m not sure. As the commercial mostly tells you, you’ve got Doc (Joaquin Phoenix) the private eye, and his ex, and her boyfriend, and his wife, and her boyfriend, and Doc’s current girlfriend (Reese Witherspoon, done wandering through the woods), and Owen Wilson somehow, and Josh Brolin as a cop. And somebody’s trying to bilk money from a rich guy, and some other stuff is happening. If you are a fan of, oh, PLOT, and, um, THINGS MAKING SENSE… then this is perhaps not the movie for you.

Viewed as a series of interconnected skits, however, Inherent Vice works rather well. The leads are having a blast—Phoenix probably paid them to play this role, and Brolin gets to play things both totally straight and totally goofy. There are lots of laughs and lots of weird moments to enjoy. You like cameos? There are cameos. Martin Short and Omar from The Wire, for example. Anderson switches gears a couple of times, maybe just to remind us that he’s in charge. (There’s a quiet, sexy, sexy scene late in the film that is certainly a mood-changer. Hoo boy.)

Reviewing a movie of seeming non-sequiturs, may I make one? I have been noticing, in this movie and others, that there is a breed of young actress—not the best actresses, mind you, just certain supporting characters—who speak with this… I don’t know… forced casualness, perhaps?… and it’s driving me insane. I don’t know why but I feel like Girls has something to do with it.

OK, back to the review. There’s good music, but of course there is—it’s a P.T. Anderson film. It’s the early 70s in southern California and all is groovy. So, with the detectives and all, this has a bit of a Chinatown vibe, mixed with Easy Rider and maybe Peter Sellers in The Party. But I’m especially reminded of a movie, Two-Lane Blacktop, which I saw in film class. James Taylor (!) and Dennis Wilson (!) go from town to town, drag racing. Nothing much happens, and at the end, the “film” seemingly burns up in the projector.

This felt kinda sorta like that. Inherent Vice is a lot of fun, and not much more. And that’s OK. Now, am I inspired to try to read Pynchon again? No I am not.