MovieChat Forums > Storytelling (2001) Discussion > American Beauty Documetary Mock?

American Beauty Documetary Mock?

posted 19 years ago by mish-15
21 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone know why that one part of the documentary that Paul Giamatti's character, Toby was making, depicts such closeness to American Beauty?

Don't tell me I'm delusional, I mean there was the similarity between the way camera was done, the way he spoke to immitate the voice of the Ricky Fitz when he speaks about the flying bag, which they imitated with a wrapper/paper flying around in front of the same kind of brick wall with the leaves around.

Not to mention to desperate attempt to imitate Thomas Newman's score for American Beauty....

Does anyone know what was all that about?

[–] chadgoulding 19 years ago

The blatant AB reference was intentional. Notice how the finished documentary was called "American Scooby"?

The AB spoof was one part of a long running gag about Toby's lack of talent. He's trying to make a high-brow intellectual docu but the best he can do is rip-off a popular and well known film.

Chad

[–] mrb_unruh 19 years ago

definitely

[–] b1lskirnir 18 years ago

I laughed my ass off at that part. At the end you wonder who's more pathetic: Scooby or Toby?

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[–] MisterBizzones 18 years ago

The 'American Scooby' thing is also a riff on 'American Movie' - the subject of that film (Mike Schank) has a role in 'Storytelling', and it was criticized by some for being exploitative (as is Giamatti's documentary in this film). I never noticed the AB reference, but that just makes it better.

[–] MisterBizzones 18 years ago

For some reason only the first four posts showed when I posted this comment. I see my point has already been made. Bad dog.

[–] sassee4ever 19 years ago

And the music that played during the scene was close to the American Beauty xylophone music.

[–] theImmortalPlus 19 years ago

i think it has more to do with mocking American Beauty, as i believe there is some kind of enmity between Sam Mendes and Todd Solondz. i particularly enjoyed this part of the film because i really loath American Beauty... but then i was so much younger when i first saw it, that maybe i should withhold any opinion...
i just remember the scene, as parodied in the film, where wes bentley shows thora birch the video of the plastic bag, saying "this is the most beautiful things i've filmed," etc., to me, its seem so completely tactless and amateurish and cloying and riddled with cliches... as did most of the movie... it is a satire, right? so maybe this was intentional? for some reason, i don't think so...but i don't know...

[–] ineffable27 19 years ago

I really really HATE that cliche-filled over-rated piece of crap 'American Beauty,' so I was pleased to see it being mocked in this flick.

But by having Giamatti call his doc 'American Scooby,' I think Solondz was simultaneously poking fun at 'American Movie,' the documentary about the dudes who make a low-budget horror movie (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0181288/). This occured to me during the screening, when the sophisticates in the audience are laughing at Scooby, and in particular his earnest claim that he "really wants to direct." Then Scooby realises he's being exploited by Giamatti, who has his own agenda.

[–] filthy_manchild 19 years ago

The guy who plays Giamatti's cameraman is the best friend from American Movie.
Funny movie.

[–] ineffable27 19 years ago

That's right -- I forgot about that.

I read on one of the other discussions on here that Mendes (the director of American Beauty) had bad things to say about one of Solondz's films (Happiness I think), so Solondz took the opportunity to get back at him.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] treetherealest 19 years ago

EXACTLY. It's an AMERICAN MOVIE reference you damn dingbats. I don't think anybody here knows who Mike Schank is. If you did..you'd know the documentry AMERICAN MOVIE basically made fun of the people who were making and they didn't really realize they were being made fun of (just like how Scooby was) Sheesh.

[–] ineffable27 19 years ago

It's a reference to both. At the same time. Cool huh?

Chill out, man.

[–] summertheseason1 19 years ago

I laughed out loud when he was talking about the straw wrapper in the wind. The plastic bag scene is my favorite scene from AB.

[–] NostalgiaDrag 18 years ago

I know this'll sound like a pretty big stretch at first, but did any of you consider that perhaps the American Scooby documentary was also a subtle jab at Michael Moore and his ilk? Okay, forget politics here, I'm referring strictly to Michael Moore's style of filmmaking. Apart from his over-bias and enormous truth-stretching to make his points, he's also an extremely exploitative filmmaker who often humiliates his subjects to make himself look like a rational elitist.

Toby initially had different intentions with his subject, Scooby, but audiences mistook his amateur vision and poor filmmaking as sort of a mock to Scooby and his family. Scooby's family, and especially Scooby in particular, were the victims of Toby's exploitative filmmaking (although they're not exactly innocent victims, Solondz comes across pretty clear about that).

Also, Solondz in an interview, when asked if his films were misanthropic or exploitative, replied with something like, "No, my movies are tragic stories, they're not intended to be misanthropic and hateful. Nor are they exploitative." When asked what his idea of exploitative, hurtful filmmaking was, he replied with Michael Moore's documentaries.

What are your thoughts, internet people?

[–] bersarhin 18 years ago

I didn't find a single connection between Moore and Toby.

FYC: Pan's Labyrinth, Adriana Barraza, Steve Carell, Sergi Lopez & Little Miss Sunshine

[–] NostalgiaDrag 18 years ago

One more thing I noticed...Toby's cameraman is played by Mike Schenk, the guy from American Movie. Is this intentional on Solondz's part?

[–] kimberlymhn 18 years ago

I think I know the interview you are talking about and Solondz does not describe Moore's work as exploitative or hurtful. He simply points out in relation to his movie 'palindromes' that he liked to offer two points of view while Moore like most documentary makers aims to support one idea at conclusion.
The Sooby sequence had nothing to do with Moore and everything to do with spoofing 'American Beauty'.

[–] NostalgiaDrag 18 years ago

I wish I could find the interview I'm referring to (I read it awhile back) but from what I remember, I'm pretty sure Solondz suggests that Moore's documentary filmmaking style is in fact exploitative.

Anywho, I think everyone is fully aware that it's a spoof on American Beauty - it's pretty obvious by the time the straw wrapper is seen floating in the wind. But I'm just wondering if there were perhaps other mocks and not just American Beauty alone.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] WoodsboroFountain 11 years ago

Definitely an intentional (and hilarious) nod to AB, but the fact of who or what it's actually making fun of is rather interesting!

"The battle for the soul is fought in the forum of art."