Embedded

I generally like and even admire Tim Robbins. He's a fine actor/writer/director/producer/whatever. He can play funny, smart, stupid -- alas, lately he mostly plays stupid (see: War of the Worlds, Mystic River, etc.). I've also known for quite some time that he and his wife Susan Sarandon are liberal activists. For starters, I've never been a fan of the drama student turned celebrity turned political activist. I cannot for the life of me draw a parallel between their extraordinary multi-million dollar lifestyles and that of the everyman, college educated or not.

Sure, it can be quite marvelous when a group of uber celebrities manage to collect a ton of money for a good cause. But when people like Puffy/Puff Daddy/P Diddy/whatever-he-goes-by-these-days starts rapping about voting or dying, then I sometimes think to myself that this current situation is way out of hand. In all honesty, I'd rather not vote at all than do it just because my favorite celeb icon says so, even if he does come up with fresh rhymes and funky beats.

Going back to Tim Robbins, I have no qualms about him making a politically charged social commentary satire, even if it's low-brow and almost entirely without merit. If the man had something to say then I'd listen. But unfortunately all we get with Embedded, an Off-Broadway play written and directed by Robbins, is crass potty humor and government-bashing propaganda complete with the obligatory Rage Against the Machine/System of a Down soundtrack. This play honestly feels like something that was made by a disgruntled college student (hey, I guess that's something of compliment) that has nothing better do than bitch and moan.

The play is a fictitious representation of America's current position in the Middle East. We cut from horny/evil government officials to stupid/naive soldiers to pushover/pansy journalists to Full Metal Jacket-like drill sergeants. Everyone is crass, corrupt and/or oblivious to all. We even get heavy-handed stock footage of mothers holding their dead babies, etc. God forbid you show the flip-side. Ah... why bother, that might actually give your argument depth, and who needs depth? All we need to do is shock and awe our audience into submission.

As much as I can sometimes sympathize with such extreme left-wing views, I just think that in this case it's totally half-assed, immature, uninformed, and insulting to those who have died in combat. It completely mocks their sacrifice without any shred of remorse. Who knows, maybe I'm the idiot who's missing the valuable piece of the jigsaw that only Robbins can find.

This Netflix DVD has nothing on it aside from chapter selections. Also worth noting is that this DVD presents the play with some additional, well-paced backstage footage between scenes. The technique actually works quite well for this medium. Also, the camera work and editing are pretty accomplished and oftentimes work well in conjunction to the content and tone of each scene.

If you hate government officials, Republicans and/or the military then you might end up liking this DVD more than I did. On a more neutral level, the comedy misses at every opportunity. Also, the acting isn't anything to write home about (even for Off-Broadway). In fact, the whole production definitely had a rushed feel to it. Maybe Robbins wrote it on the can or something.

Until recently, this DVD was only available for members of Netflix and could not be purchased (though I would have gladly sold you my copy for next to nothing). On September 20th, Facets Video released another version, which includes interviews and a few other negligible features. -- Neil Karassik