BLUE MAG

The other day I saw the rather forgettable new comedy “Hot Rod.” In the background of one scene appeared the poster for the 80s sex comedy “The Whoopee Boys,” another forgettable movie. For some unfathomable reason this juxtopositioning of two forgettable films within each other like the renderings of a medium-talent Escher caused me to become obsessed with “The Whoopee Boys” and more importantly its director John Byrum.

When one becomes aware that someone writes, directs and photographs the movies you’re seeing in front of you and it takes weeks and weeks to construct what you consume in two hours, you usually think of it in terms of something like “Citizen Kane” or “Lord of the Rings.” You don’t usually think of all the time and effort poured into “The Whoopee Boys.” You don’t usually think of the directors as autures or artists, rather in the best of terms a craftsman or in the worst a hack.

It’s a rather sad realization when one discovers that most movies are just sort of cobbled together and very little consideration is made about its artistry. For me this realization came with the screening of “Money Talks” my freshman year at film school. The first time director, Brett Ratner was in attendance for a Q and A following the screening and listening to him I realized that most people working as a director for a living were like this man. Most directors made things like “Money Talks” not “Citizen Kane” or “Raging Bull” or even “Susperia.” That’s what made the better work stand out because most of what it was surrounded by was crap.

So following that somewhat devastating experience I felt rather sad when watching the credits of a film like “The Whoopee Boys.” Someone spent months of his or her lives on that work only for it to end up as a joke in the background of a mediocre comedy. Not just someone but John Byrum.

Looking up the film on imdb.com I discovered it was directed by John Byrum a name that was vaguely familiar to me, perhaps because it is similar to an X-Man artist. So I clicked on his previous credits and it was like F. Scott Fitzgerald had written his imdb profile.

John Byrum began his career fresh out of New York film school and onto a brand new show called “Sesame Street” working for the Jim Henson Company. He was a writer on the show and responsible for many of the memorable scenes that continue to etch themselves onto the brains of children everywhere. While working for the children’s show he wrote a distinctly adult script called “Inserts.” The screenplay passed through Hollywood hands and became a “hot item.” This was the mid-70s and everyone thought it was brilliant.

On the strength of that buzz he sold his second script, “Harry and Walter go to New York” for a then unheard of amount. This allowed him to film his on script “Inserts” as his directorial debut.

“Inserts” is a fascinating picture. It was made in 1974 and starred Richard Dreyfus, Veronica Cartwright, Bob Hoskins and Jessica Harper. The entire film takes place on one set in real time. It was rated X.

The film tells the story of the Boy Wonder (played by Dreyfus) who was once big in the pictures until sound came in. Now he never leaves his dilapidated Hollywood mansion and makes porno films for a gangster named Big Mac (Hoskins.) I watched the film recently and couldn’t help but see Byrum’s life reflected in the film. They don’t make movies like this anymore. Films that aren’t meant for and don’t need to be for everyone.

Following “Inserts” which proved to be quite controversial, Byrum passed on the chance to adapt “Jaws” to write “Mahogany” for Diana Ross and Tony Richardson. Unfortunately Richardson was fired and the script re-written and the movie ended up being less than successful.

Byrum second feature as a director was “Heart Beat” which told the story of Neal Cassidy and Jack Kerouac ‘s relationship with Carolyn Cassidy. I’ve only seen this film on UHF television and it was probably cut down considerably but it starred Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek and John Heard and was photographed by Laszlo Kovács (R.I.P.) with music by Jack Nitzsche. With all that talent involved it’s hard to believe it’s not good.

“Heart Beat” received good reviews at the time and this led to Byrum’s next and most ambitious project: “The Razor’s Edge” starring Bill Murray. At the time of its release this movie was almost universally panned. It failed at the box office and was such a blow to Murray he moved to Paris for a year. This is really sad because this movie was great. If you don’t believe me check it out. Bill Murray gives one of the great performances in this movie far exceeding even the fine work he would latter find acclaim for in “Lost in Translation,” “Rushmore” and “Broken Flowers.” Byrum script and direction are really assured and the movie is full of great moments but it was a commercial failure. So John Byrum couldn’t direct a movie for the next two years and the work he finally was able to get was something called “The Whoopee Boys.”

Sure Byrum went on to do other things. He created several successful television shows and most recently wrote “Duets” but I wonder if he would have been better off retreating to a giant mansion and directing private adult films after the ruin that was “The Razor’s Edge.” It would have been more poetic at least if not an entirely realistic fantasy, but that’s what movies do best: create fantasies you can believe for at least two hours. The truth is life is not at all fantastic and movies like “Whoopee Boys” and “Hot Rod” continue to fill screens across the nation because people like me pay for them.

When it’s all said and done I urge you to track down “Inserts” and “The Razor’s Edge” these are two neglected gems that are in need of rediscovery. You might say John Byrum is in need of some of that rediscovery too.

A final caveat: “Inserts” is still “X” rated so it’s not for everyone but I like it.