Culture Blues

The Instant Movie Club: Mail Order Wife

Every week, your friends at Culture Blues get together to watch a movie from their Netflix Instant queue. Then, they sit down over chili and discuss it. This is The Instant Movie Club.

This week, we’ll be discussing Mail Order Wife, the 2004 mockumentary from the men behind the upcoming The Virginity Hit, which is currently building noteworthy buzz. The below discussion contains spoilers.

Next Week: Year One. Harold Ramis directs a new generation of comedians including Jack Black, Michael Cera, David Cross, Hank Azaria, Horatio Sanz, Oliver Platt, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader and Paul Scheer.

Spoilers Below

Jeremiah: Since we started the IMC, we've watched many indie films. Most of them ranged from absolutely godawful (Franklyn) to "hey, that wasn't so bad for a movie that no one saw" (Grace). But there's been a real dearth of movies that I felt like I needed to tell people about. Movies that come from clearly talented, crafty people who might actually become something bigger in the movie business. Well, we've finally got one.

I can understand why some people wouldn't like Mail Order Wife. For one, it's a very cynical movie, and there's really no uplifting ending. There's the fact that despite being a comedy based very much on characters, it's got a twisty plot that eventually becomes ridiculous. And it features a sort of straight faced comedy that's been used by just about everyone in the past decade.

Those were all strengths for me though. The ugly nature of just about everybody in the movie had a greater effect on me than all the gruesome murders and torture we've watched. The plot developments didn't keep me guessing, rather they kept me interested, which is preferable in my opinion. And the straight faced humor actually serves a purpose here. It allows this very dark story to exist right along with the jokes, with no separation.

These elements converge in one of my favorite moments of the film. When Andrew suddenly and matter-of-factly reveals that he's been having sex ("just sex") with Lichi. I was disgusted by how thoughtless he was, I was shocked by what we suddenly learned about his character (even though I'd picked up on his clingy creepiness just moments before) and I was also amused at just how delusional this guy was.

Aside from those things that I could understand people disliking, there are some aspects I think are above criticism. Despite its ridiculous plot, this movie feels very real (so real that despite knowing it was a scripted movie, more than halfway through I kind of wanted to pause it just to make sure). This is largely thanks to the excellent acting throughout. The acting and writing create characters that are more than they seem at first, and that while delusional and/or crazy, are also allowed moments of clarity and insight, or at least lucidity.

All in all, Mail Order Wife offers a particular cocktail of styles and elements that I don’t think I’ve seen come together so well before, and while I’m not sure I’m ready to call it a great movie, I enjoyed it as much as anything I can remember watching recently.

The love triangle

Jeff: It's a shame that the rest of The IMC was too god damn busy to watch an 90 minute movie this week, because they really missed out. Unlike Jeremiah, I am ready to call Mail Order Wife a great movie. It's the kind of discovery that The IMC exists to make.

Jeremiah describes Mail Order Wife as cynical. I’d call that an understatement. Mail Order Wife is depraved, misogynist, and racist. It's also hilarious. This movie goes to some really dark places, is populated by some extremely dislikable characters, and yet still manages to wring out big laughs (specifically, I loved Lichi’s monologue about her pig collection, and Adrian’s explanation of how every relationship is a circle). It’s as if directors Andrew Gurland and Huck Botko (who appear as themselves) set out to see just how far they could push the envelope. But the film, at least until it’s farcical ending, never degenerates into shock tactics; everything evolves very naturally. When we meet Adrian he seems like a lovable curmudgeon; he turns into a sex-dungeon having lunatic. At first, Andrew seems like our artistic knight in shining armor; he turns into a pretentious, manipulative fraud. Even Lichi, who should be our demure damsel-in-distress has turned into a baby-crazy scam artist by the end of the film. It’s so dark!

I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen the faux-documentary style used to such great effect. I knew Mail Order Wife wasn’t real, and yet I was still repeatedly skeeved out by Andrew and Adrian. There’s none of the winking over-the-top antics of a Christopher Guest style mockumentary to necessitate suspension of disbelief (at least until the end). Gurland and Botko have mined some very interesting ground here, especially as Andrew’s seemingly objective documentary devolves into creepiness and obsession. They defy our expectations at every turn and force us to confront some very ugly feelings about gender roles, our feelings toward foreigners, and the responsibility of artists.

Back in 2005, Andrew O’Hehir of Salon was one of the few critics to write about Mail Order Wife. You’ll have to scroll down to read his review, it’s buried (much like Mail Order Wife was). O’Hehir is extremely prescient when he says Gurland and Botko will either become the next big things in comedy or find their careers tanked by Mail Order Wife. They haven’t made a film since, at least until this fall’s The Virginity Hit, another faux-documentary. At first pass, The Virginity Hit looked like an American Pie for the Youtube generation, but with Gurland and Botko at the helm I’m wondering if this teen sex comedy might be something more.

Regardless, you should jump on Mail Order Wife as soon as possible. It’s a cult movie in need of a cult. It might be genius. Don’t say that The IMC has never done anything for you.

Now let’s watch some Michael Cera movies!

Hatching a scheme

Is Mail Order Wife as good as Jeff and Jeremiah think? Is it the best mockumentary since This is Spinal Tap? Or is it just another unfunny comedy loaded with unnecessary seriousness and plot that can't finish a thought? Tell us in the comments section.

Next week: Year One