Sanity Clause

Sanity Clause
Directed by Ned Carlson

Where most 3DMM directors have half-completed major projects sitting on the shelf collecting dust and occasional microscopic additions to their runtime, Ned Carlson keeps up a moviemaking pace that's right out of the nonexistent golden years of the community, when major releases came in batches of two and three a week. Nowadays it sometimes feels like you're lucky to get that many individual viewers. While reviews and general response have dropped off while people complain about the decline of the community like the reasons are some unconnected mystery, Carlson consistently and doggedly puts his money where his mouth is, releasing worthwhile feature films by the bucketfull. The CNCW universe is the most densely populated high-quality series you've probably never heard of, a still steadily-growing library of good-natured, well written, expertly paced movies about characters who would be corny if they weren't so damned endearing. Sanity Clause is the latest addition to the CNCW family, and from the admittedly small number I've seen, it's the best of the bunch.

The story opens with two characters set apart from the crowd I've been familiar with up until now, Dirtbag, Gramps, Ronji, and the gang from Deck the Hacks and Talk and Tampering. I've read various bits about Frankie and Gus in Tom Bown's various hype threads for Boys in Blue and Theatrically Threatened, but this is the first time I've seen one of their movies. I have to say, this character set seems surprisingly much stronger and more solid from a plot and chemistry standpoint. Frankie is bombastically cheerful and sports an amusingly transparent air of sophistication, which evaporates the moment he gets flustered or his self-absorbed nature shines through. Gus is....well, Gus is kind of retarded, in that enthusiastic and excitable way that often skirts the line between amusing and annoying, but usually falls on the amusing side once you've gotten used to him. Side characters are found in the robot, who seems to be borrowed from the other side of the CNCW universe, and Beachball, Gus's brilliantly named dog, who is at least as smart as he is.

I'm getting sidetracked. The plot (and there definitely is one, and not just in the "clothesline-for-wackiness" that most 3DMM comedies employ) involves a flashback to a particularly nutty Christmas adventure Franke and Gus had years back. During a surprisingly well-done sequence involving a driving lesson gone sour, the pair are pulled over and arrested, but unknowingly thrown in an insane asylum instead of a jail cell (though I have to admit I'm a little unclear on how they could completely miss the claims of a prosecutor that they're both insane at their own trial). While Robot and Beachball work on plans to get them out, Frankie falls in love with an asylum worker during numerous escape attempts and Gus begins to hallucinate that bounty hunters are after him. All this escalates in an exaggerated but not painfully over-the-top way; not an easy balancing act, especially when it comes to movies in this community. Sanity Clause progresses like an episode of Looney Tunes might, piling wacky developments on top of each other and culminating in a revelation or two that would be improbable in a saltier comedy like Moderately Confused, but feels right at home in this consistently good-natured universe.

The thing that always gets me about the CNCW films is how easily they could be adapted as TV episodes in an ongoing series. They're chronological as far as I can tell, but not quite episodic, as each installment is kind of a special adventure given more care and attention than most basic premises for sitcoms or cartoons would be, but the characters are broadly and amusingly drawn, the situations and conflicts comical and lighthearted but strong enough to serve as a plot, and everything is neatly and quirkly resolved by the end. Sanity Clause in particular is a step above the rest, and marks a surprisingly large jump in Ned's writing ability, as the whole thing is much more solid from a pacing standpoint than Deck the Hacks 2. The directing is also vastly improved, never going beyond a basic tracking, zooming, or panning shot, but I was surprised by the number of sequences that depended on a certain sequence of shots or camera moves to work effectively, and actually got them. Many movies, not just some earlier CNCW material, haven't taken the time and planning to go that extra step, and it makes quite a difference in the overall solidness of the work. The driving scene at the beginning and the confrontation in the town square at the end of the movie in particular have a kind of directorial polish I didn't know Ned was capable of, and wasn't expecting.

I had very few issues with the film, overall. I don't think it ever really takes a bad step. The beginning is a little slow and the exaggerated personalities may be a little off-putting considering the kind of content this community is used to, but once it gets going, it's hard not to get sucked into its rhythm. There are a couple of weird moments, like the seemingly mute Nurse Jane (though, to be fair, it fits uncannily well as a counterpoint to Frankie's bombast), and the dancing scene, which is ultimately funny thanks to the timing of the other patients but still comes off as a little odd (I guess you could blame 3DMM's default actions on that). These are the kinds of things I notice in hindsight, and serve more as personality quirks than off-key spots. The movie has a snap and crackle to its pacing and atmosphere that I would say 9 out of 10 3DMM comedies fall just short of, entertainment value notwithstanding. It's vibrant, it's alive, and it secures Ned Carlson as the most productive and rapidly improving director in the community as far as I'm concerned. I'm still smiling.

Critical Score: 91/100.
Personal Score: 94/100.