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RENO: REBEL WITHOUT A PAUSE Send This Review to a Friend
In this film that springs from the Reno's stage performance by the same title, "Reno: Rebel Without a Pause," the very funny and acerbic comic has the guts to provide "unrestrained reflections" on events of September 11th." How does one joke about September 11th? Well, she doesn't. What she does is joke about people's responses to the September 11th tragedy. We're a little further removed in time from when she first began doing her show, but the wounds are still there. Reno provides a tonic for those seeking perspective, and certainly all that has happened since, including the recent controversial invasion of Iraq, makes us better able to see the way in which September 11th has been used as an excuse for assaulting our liberties
Reno ridicules herself, a late sleeper who was awakened by friends and told she must turn on the television, when all she had to do was look out the window of her downtown residence. She lashes comically at Attorney General Ashcroft as someone exploiting September 11th and also skewers President Bush. Reno can take a simple line and give it a twist of sarcasm. As those who have seen her know, she moves about in a state of escalating emotion as her routine builds, and gives the impression that the outpouring of humor and throwaway lines are sheer spontaneity. But the clever progressions indicate how carefully her razor-sharp mind has operated in preparation. Director Nancy Savoca has managed to capture the essence of Reno's act and make it work on film as well as on stage.
Humor is generally iffy. What's funny to one may offend others. I can't say I would like to be sitting watching her film with someone who had lost a loved one on September 11th. But in the broader picture her comedy that skewers the way in which individuals and society responds to the tragedy, coupled with the political barbs she aims at assorted targets, makes spending time with Reno bold and refreshing.
What emerges is a hilarious look at America of the moment and a comedic assault on the absurdities and hypocrisies that permeate our society. Those who enjoy this sort of no-holds-barred humor should have plenty of laughs and be thankful that this rebel is not pausing. A Seventh Art Releasing release.
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