After biologist and coral smuggler Dr. Theresa Gorgeous dies in strange circumstances, Interpol agents Chase National (Alex Zhang Hungtai) and No St. Aubergine (Esther Garrel) head to Mexico to investigate a convoluted case that may be connected to Gorgeous’ illicit cargo. Can they solve the mystery before the body count spirals out of control?
Described as “an absurdist homage to 90s basic cable TV thrillers”, writer/directors Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman serve up all of the clunky dialogue, slightly stilted performances and poverty budget trappings of programme makers desperate to harness the lightning in a bottle previously captured in relatively resource rich network fare such as The X-Files. The overarching structure is seven mini episodes of a show called Dream Team, complete with smash cuts to black which would normally signal the end of a cold open giving way to the opening titles, a pause for ad breaks or the lead into the closing credits.
The initial parody is on point, focusing on a cool male/female crime fighting duo thrust into odd situations, but it’s not long before the plot spins off into all sorts of unexpected areas, mixing Coral 101 explanations from expert Dr. Veronica Beef (Minh T Mia) with dream visions, dance workouts, meditation advice, wine tasting, the gardening exploits of an invisible agent and a discussion of Schrödinger’s Cat.
The film is also described as “A post-modern, soft core fever dream.” Sidestepping the fact that I could spend the rest of this review on exactly what I think of “post-modern” as a term, let’s address “soft core.” There are elements of Dream Team which nudge towards some kind of muted erotica, but as the unofficial (and, I might add, still thoroughly unsuitable) sexy time correspondent for Warped Perspective, the material is far too coy if it’s trying to titillate, especially to someone who remembers the era of Red Shoe Diaries – also a cable show – playing British TV. “Fever dream”? That’s often a get out clause for incoherence, but here the head spinning stuff and the lack of explanation at key points is clearly deliberate.
Dream Team is an interesting item to review, setting itself up as a thriller but slowing the pace and obfuscating a conventional narrative to such an extent that thrills very quickly find themselves removed from the menu. That said, the 16mm cinematography is alluring, the visual collages chime with the slightly woozy feel of the ongoing inquiry and there are moments when the idea of drifting along with the tale seems an attractive proposition, but the avant garde trappings of the project result in sacrificing any comfort the viewer might take by regularly throwing in ideas out of left field. As intriguing and daring as that might be, it jars the viewer back into their previous state of wondering just what the hell they’re watching.
Putting the emphasis on the penny-pinching leads to some fun jokes (watch for the one with the “Interpol” sign) and the intentionally terrible would-be zingers in the script are plentiful, but the approach ultimately clashes with the more interesting, philosophical nature of the tale. Big themes are introduced but these are undercut far too often by a double entendre or a sequence which doesn’t seem to belong. The thwarted ambition of this mirrors many a television programme which thinks big and can’t quite deliver, but I think Horn and Kalman could have grappled more with existential crises without losing too much of its wacky side.
The final act sees a change in tack, unveiling a new plot which hints at knitting together with the overall story, but could equally be utterly disposable given the M.O. of the fictional series. It rounds off with the promise of a second season, which will either continue the adventures of Chase and No or swerve into wholesale cast changes, delving further into the vagaries of a co-ed/co-op basketball league. Where do the basketball players come from? You have as much idea as I have, and I’ve had the supposed advantage of watching it. Confused? You will be after the next episode of Dream Team…
Oscillating between fascinatingly bizarre and patience testing, Dream Team appears to be the work of artists who still aren’t quite sure if film is for them and their experimentation with the format risks the viewer pushing the off button at any time. At some points it felt as if it were actively attempting to make me lose interest, which had the effect on me of wanting to keep watching, if only to see where it was going and if any of it would ultimately make any kind of sense. It’s movie making, but not as a lot of us know it. I think it will prove too obscure for most, which is kind of a shame for something which includes a scientist with the name of Dr. Veronica Beef.
Dream Team (2024) is available now.