‘Now that my only child is a dog, would it be possible for you to give me the baby I gave you back?‘
People will often describe certain films as ‘weird’. Saltburn was one such film. While it has some spicy moments, Saltburn is a film with a coherent narrative, big-name stars and a clear message, written and directed by someone very much of the world of Hollywood and released by a major studio. I loved it, but it’s really not that weird. David Lynch is weird. Luis Bunuel is weird. And this film? Greener Grass? This is fucking weird…
We are thrown into a heightened and bizarre version of American suburbia in which all the soccer moms have braces, the husbands can’t remember who they are married to, and everyone is wearing bright, primary colours. We begin with a scene in which Jill (Jocelyn DeBoer) offers her newborn baby daughter to her friend Lisa (Dawn Luebbe) on a whim. Jill lives to regret this decision when her other child randomly turns into a dog, and her friends convince her to divorce her husband.
DeBoer and Luebbe, as well as starring in the film, also write and direct, and it is this synergy that allows them to create such a unique and singular vision. Imagine Soundgarden’s trippy video for ‘Black Hole Sun’, but stretched over 90 minutes, and you’re somewhere close. The comedy is pitch black, but when it lands, it’s genuinely funny, helped along by some fine supporting performances, most notably from D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place), and indie film legend Jim Cummings (who delivers a disastrous eulogy here that recalls his breakout short film Thunder Road).
While Greener Grass should be avoided by people who enjoy things such as ‘plot’, ‘consistent characters’ and ‘clarity’, I thoroughly enjoyed the distinctive, idiosyncratic style developed by DeBoer and Lubbe here, and I’m interested to see where they go from here.
