By Dave Fischer
[Note: This article originally appeared in The Agenda #15]
Every rumor of another movie about the early punk scene is met with trepidation by the fans of that period. Every time we hear about another film project covering the life of Darby Crash, we hear a chorus of moans from the ranks of the obsessed. It was a period of high drama and embarrassing excess, and every survivor seems to be a mental case with an arsenal of axes to grind.
While all of this had me fully prepared to walk out of the theatre a few minutes in, I am truly excited to report that Dean Parisot's new film, Fun with Dick and Jayne is, in fact, an excellent portrayal of the drama surrounding the notorious CBGB's incident where legendary performance artist Wayne (later Jayne) County (played by Leonardo "Teo" DiCaprio) attacked Handsome Dick Manitoba (played by Jim Carrey) with a mic stand, breaking his collarbone.
From a historic point of view, everything is correct: the music, the fashion, the size and attitude of that early, extremely embryonic punk world. Luckily, that is not the focus of the film. The correctness of the details allow them to remain in the background, as the tender and ironic love story between these two underground artists unfolds. The lesser known story of their private relationship finally makes sense of the notorious public scandal. This will probably be the most tasteful and inspirational NC-17 film you will ever see.