April 29--"I'm not talking Vlasics, but somebody was in a pickle!" There are a handful of wonderfully bad zingers in this film noir spoof -- too few, I'd say. They come from the mouth of Rick Larkin (John Wilson), a Sam Spade knockoff in a trench coat and fedora who is the best thing going in this confused script from Richard Anderson for Corn Productions.
"Like a runaway school bus, I needed all the breaks I could get." That's so bad, it's good.
But for the most part Anderson keeps the Larkin character off stage (a real mistake) in favor of a parade of nonsensical characters who stride into a penthouse apartment looking for trouble. Sloppy storytelling does the production no favors; even wildly over-the-top parodies need an internal logic.
Meg Tresedder, who wisely plays it straight, is the one standout in the cast as the femme fatale looking to bump off her husband, an energy milk tycoon who ... actually, I don't know what else to say about the man -- or anyone else who shows up, for that matter.
That's a shame because Anderson has an ear for the ridiculous. His zingers are groan-inducing, but the kind that work if delivered with speed and confidence. Belabor any of it and you're in trouble. "Magic camp finally started paying off." That's a funny line. So is the homonym-like line "has bolo ties" which is misheard as "Hezbollah ties."
Farce tends to work best when there is a discipline undergirding the chaos. Lacking that, you're in trouble. In director Sarah Ballema's production, the energy is high, but the collective effort resembles a collapsed souffle.
REVIEW: Rubbing Out Otis: A Film Noir Farce
1.5 STARS
Through May 23 at the Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln Ave.; tickets are $7-$15 at 773-650-1331 or cornservatory.org
nmetz@tribpub.com
