Review by Cameron Maitland

It’s no secret that b-grade actors can revitalize their careers with unexpected turns in movies outside of their regular wheelhouse. Mabrouk El Mechri’s JCVD, exists not only as a taut action-comedy but also as what may be Jean-Claude Van Damme’s last chance to revitalize his career - by playing himself.

Van Damme plays a semi-realistic pastiche of himself, a bloated, failing actor who, after losing his child in a messy divorce, gets caught up in a botched bank robbery in his hometown of Brussels. The film refuses to let Van Damme be the action star the world, and every character in the film including the bank robbers, assumes he is. It deftly darts back and forth between serious dramatic tension and flat-out comedy, working well as a diverting, surprising portrayal of the actor and the ‘reality’ of his life.

That said there are numerous points in the film which seem to grasp at something more and fail. Van Damme gives an impassioned monologue that falls flat and often other characters try to articulate grand ideas that never make any coherent sense. Also, for a film which somewhat claims to parody the actor, nearly every scene portrays him as endlessly put-upon and sympathetic to the point where he comes off more arrogant than his public image has ever been.

As a simple comedy and action film, JCVD works wonderfully. Sadly, its failed attempts at being something bigger seem to only push against the idea that Van Damme is worth anything more than his straight-to-DVD films.

JCVD
Mabrouk El Mechri | France | 2008 | 102min

Sat. Sept. 27 | 9:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre 7
Sun. Sept. 28 | 4:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre 2