I just saw Mister Lonely with my sister. What a bizarre film... about as relevant all together as cucumbers are to goats. The film weaves many deranged look-a-likes together: Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Charlie Chaplain (and Hitler), Madonna, Dean Martin, Abe Lincoln, Shirley Temple, and some others; then it punctures this narrative cloth with a tale of flying nuns (get the reference?) led by a priest, played by Werner Herzog (oh, aren't we witty here?), to add some allusive flair.
It takes a bit of mitigation to understand, but it's ostensibly about following gut-instinctual dreams and the pathways to impossible achievements, though through a bleeding-heart liberal perspective that's often too humanistic for its own good.
I am, however, very happy that it didn't fall prey to predictable, feel-good structure commonly seen in movies of this type. I won't ruin it for anyone who actually reads my review, but it goes on an anti-Dante path, moving from the innocent and gay to the more profane and tragic until the bright ending.
Some of the things the director did seemed annoying and unfit for the big screen until I realized their meaning. For instance, the look-a-likes look nothing like their idols unless far away, save the clothing and hair; most of the actors are rather ugly; the Michael Jackson look-a-like fails miserably at dancing; the beginning of the story portrays unrealistic financial situations (how the hell do you afford to maintain a castle when you can barely get an impersonation job?), then moves to the tragically realistic at the end, seeming like you went from nowhere to nowhere you can breath.
It takes a little getting used to. And even then, it's a one-night stand; I still wouldn't take it back home and introduce it to my mother.
I give it a 7/10
