Review by Karolina Gruschka
Ben Bussey might have been right when he predicted almost a year ago that Motivational Growth would be a film that is most likely to split audiences. While his response – and that of a few other Abertoir 2013 attendees – was mainly positive, some, myself included, did not enjoy it as much. Why? I do love the kind of out-there film productions, however, Motivational Growth was a bit too pretentious, too wannabe something, for my liking. I am not accusing Don Thacker of lofty intentions, but the end product felt like he was trying hard to add an intellectual angle. All this wise-ass wisdom sharing, from both the Mold and Ian, made me wish for Motivational Growth to be a silent movie.
Although, the story is quite funky: Ian (Adrian DiGiovanni), a guy in his mid-thirties, probably a generation x’er, decides one day not to leave his flat anymore because of what’s-the-point and one-could-get-killed. In a way I can relate to his nihilistic and agoraphobic views and somewhat understand why he chooses to hide away from the world. We are born, we live, we die. The artificial construct that is society just overcomplicates things; who would not sometimes want to freeze time and have a break from it all? Yet, Ian takes it relatively far. When Motivational Growth starts, he has been living as a recluse for 67 weeks. His whole life revolves around his couch. The condition of his flat is vile, he practically eat/sleeps/sits in his own shit, and he himself looks pretty bad, too. More so than art-horrifying the audience, the film displays aesthetic disgust at its best; the worst scene for me is probably Ian squeezing out one of his pimples. If we do get glimpses of the outside, it is through soft focus, making the real world appear dream-like; as opposed to the sharp look of Ian’s flat – his reality.
When his old school TV set, that is also his best buddy (again, something I can relate to), dies, Ian decides that there is no reason for him to go on, either. Making at least some use of his cleaning products, he mixes them to create lethal chlorine gas. What happens next is the appearance of a massive fungus – the Mold – that believes itself to be godlike. The Mold (spoken by Re-Animator Jeffrey Combs) is ubiquitous, and refers to itself solemnly in third person: “The Mold is here to help you, the Mold wants to get you back on your feet, the Mold…, the Mold…”; it really started to annoy me already fairly early into the film, which made it all the more difficult to enjoy Motivational Growth. I cannot help myself, I simply hate verbal repetition, it literally drives me mad. Furthermore, the fact that the Mold keeps on calling the protagonist Jack, despite “the Mold knows” his name is Ian, is irritating as well, and not funny.
Indeed, the Mold does motivate Ian to sort his life out; Ian even starts fancying his neighbour Leah (cute Danielle Doetsch) who he watches every morning through his peephole. However, everything comes at a price; “the Mold has needs” (I am not refering to sexual ones, by the way…)
Motivational Growth is one of those movies that break down the fourth wall; Ian acknowledges the audience by directly addressing the viewer at times. This narrative device comments on his actions and gives us insights to Ian’s thoughts. Per se, this creates a sense of immediacy and solidarity, rather than a distancing effect. However, the neatly constructed and trying-to-be-clever textual content of those monologues, as well as DiGiovanni’s wooden theatrical performance, undo this work and made me feel alienated. In what is practically a one-man-show, I would expect more refined acting; in fact, I preferred the performances of all the smaller characters to DiGiovanni’s.
Motivational Growth is a movie that, in my opinion, has slightly missed the point where the conflation of high brow and popular culture could work. However unfortunate this is, Motivational Growth ain’t all bad. I loved the nod to late 1980s/early 1990s TV & gaming culture and the amazing 8-bit soundtrack by Alex Mauer; nostalgia is mainly what kept me interested and stopped me from walking out (I heart Commodore 64 forever). Moreover, the fact that I had to use some of my grey matter to dope out the ending also aided in keeping me engaged, to some extent. As an advice to all the TV producers out there, take an example on Motivational Growth and re-create ‘Death Yoga’, a TV show in Ian’s world – I’d definitely watch it, “You feel me? All that stress and shit, you just gotta let it go”.
Motivational Growth will spread, and shit, on 30th September 2014 through VOD worldwide (it hits DVD & Blu-ray in Canada on the same day, then US DVD & Blu-ray on October 7th). The Mold wants you to check it out, see for yourself and join the debate.