Adolpho Rollo, a young, ambitious filmmaker and screenwriter, fantasizes about getting his 500-page script "Unconditional Surrender" made. Outside of his fantasy which sees him rise to fame and get his dream girl Angelica, who happens to be his next door neighbor, Adolpho lives a meager existence in a dumpy, New York apartment where he scrapes by financially through various odd jobs, which recently included acting in the flesh for an arty low-budget film. Desperate for money, Adolpho places an ad for financial banking for his film 'Unconsitional Surrender", which is answered by Joe, a charismatic con man who promises the cash necessary to produce Adolpho's vision. Alexandre Rockwell's In The Soap is a semi-autobiographical oddball comedy about youthful ambition, that is very much presented from the perspective of young Adolpho Rollo, a man who sees a bright future for himself as a filmmaking. Shot in color but released in black and white, In the Soup is a good looking film that does a great job of bringing the viewer into the perspective of a young filmmaker, seeing things through the eyes of young Adolpho, a man who sees everything very cinematically, having no true "life experience" outside of what he sees in the movies. Adolpho has a very romanticized viewpoint on life, most notably with how he perceives his Latin-American neighbor Angelic, a woman who he has become entranced with, wanting her to be his muse in the movie. The relationship he forms with Joe is the center-crux of this story, a small-time hood who lives an exuberant existence. While it's unclear as to whether Joe is simply using Adolpho to help on small time jobs, or has true intentions of funding Adolpho's film, Rockwell's Into the Soup showcases how Joe's greatest importance lies in his ability to give Adolpho a new perspective. Joe is a man whose shady dealings simply don't match is exuberant persona, and the relationship he forms with Adolpho gives the young filmmaker a crash course on life. Adolpho gains true life experience and a new perspective through his relationship with Joe, leading up to a conclusion that personifies Joe's care-free attitude towards even the sadder aspects of life. Featuring a very memorable performance by Seymour Cassel as Joe, and a host of fun cameos from the likes of Will Patton and Stanley Tucci, among others, Alexandre Rockwell's Into the Soup is a strange and offbeat comedy about the importance of ambition and exuberance.
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June 2023
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