|
"If a mime would shoot
somebody, wouldn’t he use a silencer?"
I guess you could
say that this is based on a true story, but then it’s so absurd I truly
had a hard time believing. So, I’ll take Balinski’s word for it, in the
end. Based on a true story, a young man who poses as a mime goes walking
in the park one night, and proceeds to mime killing a passerby. He’s
then chased, beaten and put on trial for murder. I can imagine the
original proceedings (if there were any) didn’t really go this way, but
“Mime” seems as more a lampooning of the proceedings with a clown as one
of the jurors, and our lawyers insisting that the victim not speak since
he’s technically dead.
|
During many
instances, “Mime” made me laugh, and that’s due to Joe
Grace’s comedy timing as Binky the mime. He does nothing but
make gestures, and commit to hilarious physical comedy
throughout the trial, and he had me constantly giggling
without any hesitation. “Mime” knows the premise is utterly
silly, and it takes advantage of that on many such
occasions, and the delivery of it works. |
|
 |
Unfortunately,
“Mime” is hardly a complete win for Bilinski. At times, “Mime” comes off
very forced, and much of the comedy can smack of desperation. I couldn’t
really force a laughter from the judge trying to mediate the
proceedings, nor could I really understand the sight gags of the
mannequin or the tranny juror. And much of the trial jokes just fall
flat; the “You Can’t Handle the Truth” line I saw coming miles away.
“Mime” is really not as funny as it has the potential to be, and it can
often times replace humor for goofiness, and that’s not always a formula
for success.
In the end,
“Mime” will just have to settle for being good and good only. It’s not a
great film, with forced comedy, and gags that are really too obvious,
but it drew many chuckles from me, and for that, it gets an A for
effort.
|
