[NOTE: The original video on Davis Aurini’s YouTube channel was taken down shortly after the post went up. So I’ve embedded the version that is, as of this moment, up on the director’s YouTube channel. I”d recommend that you download this for your permanent collection.]
Ok, so I’ve been working on a post about the latest ridiculous doings of our friends Davis Aurini and JordanOwen42 — the not-so-dynamic duo who’ve been desperately begging for money to make their Totally Serious documentary about how evil Anita Sarkeesian is. But then I watched this, and it’s too good not to post on its own.
This is Lust in the Time of Heartache, a short “philosophical” film written and produced, and just posted on teh Interwebs, by Mr. Aurini. I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to be a comedy, but I was laughing at it from beginning to end.
There’s nothing about this film that’s not terrible and ridiculous, from the choice of fonts in the title sequence to the names of the characters as revealed in the closing credits.
Where even to start in criticizing this mess? The, er, “acting?” The pretentious, pseudo-philosophical voiceover, delivered by Mr. Aurini himself? The shrill, frantic — yet somehow also meandering — music that plays almost continuously from beginning to end? The ludicrously unconvincing fight choreography? The ill-fitting suits? The evo psych? The dawning recognition that this whole thing is meant to depict how Aurini sees himself in our “fallen” world?
The fact that this ten minute film credits a “parkour consultant?”
I’m going to borrow a couple of lines from Pauline Kael’s famous review of the legendarily stinky 1970 film Song of Norway because they offer a pretty fair assessment of this one as well:
The movie is of an unbelievable badness. … You can’t get angry at something this stupefying; it seems to have been made by trolls.
She means “under the bridge”-style trolls, not the modern kind.
Oh, and the sound is awful, too. NOTE: Dialogue is supposed to be louder than the background noises.
Anyway, just watch it. It’s only ten minutes long. And definitely stay for the final credits. You’ll see why.
But hey, don’t take my word for it. Read this glowing review, from some dude on YouTube:
Excellent writing that encompasses the transitions from one cinematic style to the next. At first I was concentrating on the technical problems and lackluster performances, however, after about 5 mins in, the pacing kicked up a notch. Well done, sir.
I tried to watch the video but it was terrible from the start. I only managed to watch at least up to seven minutes. I will admit it was kind of funny. Almost like a parody. I didn’t know he was serious.
I thought the attackers represented his inner demons? Very poorly representative, since I’d have thought his inner demons would be things that stress him out. Like, IDK, women.
@LBT, I don’t think they really see the world this way. They think they want to see the world this way because they think it would be ‘cool’. Unfortunately the real world has humour and love in it, and they rely on that even though they think they don’t. They’re blind to the good things because they take them for granted.
Nah, I can’t load vid at work…but all that rambling screed is what he really believes, I bet…
A good cognitive behavioral therapy workbook, if he actually used it, might really help this dude.
That’s what you call a thought trap. He’s mentally painted himself into a corner…Hurting is manly? No, it just sucks.
Your being is irredeemably flawed? No, just a pain in the ass to fix.
I also note, he lives in a country with large wilderness areas, and complains about the evils of luxury…
There’s nothing stopping him from going to go live off the land for a while…it’d help. Not being sarcastic. It would make him stop playing warpy head games and worry about things like how will I not starve tonight, and how am I going to keep from freezing to death in this snow? That can really clear out your head.
Anton LaPUA. I’m using that!
The film would have been so much better if it had ended with knocking on a door and then Anton LaPUA yelling, “Mom! I’m doing my VOICEOVER. You’re ruining everything, like you always do! I hate you I hate you! I’ll be down for dinner in a minute.”
Also, kudos to Fibinachi, you examined that video with way more depth than I could have managed to focus on it.
Seconded. I love fedoras and have a nice collection of them (I’m a swing dancer, and they are a special part of our dance culture, long before the MRAs tried to snare them), and I want to reclaim them from these assholes.
FREE THE FEDORA!
Totally random, but David, want to write about an actual company that’s saturated with hipster misogyny for a change? Because it was bad enough that they serve their burgers with something called “slut sauce”, and you can order a round of “bitch juice”, but then this is what they decided to put on the walls in the women’s bathroom.
http://helengraves.co.uk/2014/09/fries-with-your-misogyny-madam/
Their Twitter account is so terrible that I’m starting to wonder if that’s Judgy Bitch’s day job.
It’s almost like he was showing women in a very bad light. Like the waitress that threaten to divorce her husband, or the woman who called the homeless man scum, asked why he didn’t have a job, and kicked him after he called her a cow. Or the three women that went with the man for drinks. Why would three women do that anyway? It doesn’t make sense to me. But that’s what I got from the beginning of the video. But yeah, I agree with David. The acting was horrible.
I ought to put a little feminism button on my fedora.
@Puddleglum:
You know what’s hilarious? The women in the video all have names that match their character (going by the cast list), like Masochistae or Corruptella (yeesh), but the “inner demons” are named after their weapons.
Basically, he needs to be deep and profound and have symbolic female villains, but when it comes to his own personal sins, he can’t even name them. They aren’t even inner demons, they’re just nameless mooks to be strong and masculine at.
@Cassandrakitty
I went to the Almost Famous “apology” for that crap on the bathroom walls, and of course they had the “A woman came up with it!” excuse.
I call BS. If a woman came up with the phrases, she never intended them to be splashed all over the women’s bathroom. (Unless, as you said, it was Janet Bloomfield.)
And that “We take risks” part: I guess that explains “slut sauce”? So risky!
What’s risky or edgy about misogyny? It’s old, tired and boring. Punching down is the safest and easiest thing you could do.
Cassie’s Major Domo
FEDORA FISTBUMP!
I’ve been saying that for years.
I have a special message for Davis Aurini, from someone who has the “Alpha” part down far, far, far better than he ever could….
http://imgur.com/osB7NGg
“We become nothing but a bunch of well-dressed apes”, he says, clad in a fedora and an extremely baggy suit.
I just saw this hat advertised
WANT
You know, in a perverse way, I kinda liked this fairytale from the troll. It’s not the end of the world if someone isn’t into you!
Mind, when the ‘princess’ is meant to represent every woman ever, it gets sad. Naff off you credulous bottom-feeder.
RE:kittehserf, lol I like that hat as well.
C.B., If that hat was on sale here, I would so buy it. But priced in euros means postage, plus online means not getting to try it for size … so, dammit, no.
Aitch – trolly fucked up his tale: princess refusing the prince meant she lived happily ever after, since she wasn’t marrying someone she didn’t want.
Yeah I understand. By the way nice to meet you. I’m new here so thank for being so kind and replying back to me.
Good call.
Meanwhile the prince would, in practice, seethe and hate on all women instead of going his own way.
Viro dianc seems to be very obsessed with women even though it seems like he doesn’t like them very much and think they are a bunch a sociopaths.
So what is this thing’s “plot” exactly?
A bunch of sociopaths. Sorry I type to fast and I don’t really proof read my comments. Maybe it’s time I should. Lol