I Will Survive
Main Cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien
Director: Sam Raimi
I was up early this morning and hit my usual beauty regimen with full gusto in order to prepare for my all-important border crossing so that I may return to Condo Maine and my entertainment empire that has been so sorely neglected these past few months. As I am sans passport due to its loss in the wreck of my lovely yacht, I have collected a number of old Playbills, clippings from People and The National Intruder, and a few old 8×10 glamor head shots from studio days which should have been more than enough to guarantee my smooth sailing through customs and into the suburbs of San Diego. With my skin glowing from a fresh application of Lesterene brand shrimp and avocado scrub and a Maine’s Manes wig firmly in place in my signature style, I joined the queue of those walking across the Mexico-US border around 10 AM. Fortunately, I had a parasol as the sun was really unreasonably warm and I could feel my delicate skin beginning to turn pink around the edges.
I reached the head of the line where I presented my documents, and announced, “Hello everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine” in my best stage voice. The guard, on understanding that I did not have a passport available, pretended not to recognize me, despite the polite applause from the gathering crowd. No amount of dialogue from my famous films, tap routines, or even a rendition of Shine on Harvest Moon ending on a high C could get him to raise the barrier. When I demanded to speak to the manager, a couple of thugs in uniforms with ICE across their vests showed up threatening to take me into custody.
I was having none of that. I once made the mistake of following the milkman as a youngster and my mother had warned me that the iceman was even worse. Besides, I did not see a refrigeration truck anywhere in the vicinity. I decided it might be wise to spend another night in Tijuana and come up with a Plan B. As I was leaving to return to my hotel, a well-dressed gentleman came up out of the crowd, addressed me by name, asked where I was staying and suggested we might meet tomorrow as he had a way to help me out of my current difficulties. I don’t generally depend on the kindness of strangers, but I agreed to meet him for brunch and see what he has to offer.
In the meantime, as I had another evening to kill, I decided it would be reasonable to settle down in the corner of the hotel bar with a few tequila slammers and my tablet on which I should be able to conjure up a film. In looking at what was available on streaming, I stumbled across Send Help, Sam Raimi’s twisted little horror survivor comedy from earlier in the year. I had heard some good things regarding the film at the time of its theatrical release so I decided to give it a whirl. Sam Raimi is usually at least good for some interesting visuals and quirky twists, present from the beginning of his career with Evil Dead, and moving on through Darkman, The Quick and the Dead, and the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy.
Send Help is, in some ways, a two-person character study. The setup is simple. Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a bit of a schlub toiling away in a cubicle for a company that does not appreciate her gifts. When the president (Bruce Campbell, appearing solely in photographs and paintings) dies, control passes to his douchebro nepo baby son Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) who passes over Linda for additional douchebros. As she is the one with the intelligence and knowhow to make a planned merger happen, she is invited on a trip to Bangkok to complete the merger along with the douchebros on the company aircraft.
While they make fun of her Survivor audition reel, the plane goes down in the Gulf of Thailand casting up the two survivors, Linda and Bradley, on the shore of a deserted tropical island. Linda, with her addiction to Survivor, has the skills and fearlessness necessary to keep them alive. Bradley, injured in the crash, grudgingly comes to admire her for her abilities. If this was a different movie, it might become a rom-com or an adventure story, but it’s a Sam Raimi movie so it twists and turns and it soon becomes very difficult to discern which of our two characters is a hero and which a villain. There are power games, betrayals, and secrets are revealed. Who will come out on top? It’s pretty clear from early in the film where it will ultimately end up and the last sequence is very much a homage to Hitchcock.
Both of the central actors are excellent in their roles. Rachel McAdams, allowing herself to look worn and ugly at the beginning, getting a bit of a glow up from Little Day Spa on the Coral Reef, and then moving from seductress to big bad mama to action heroine, is obviously having a field day with the opportunities and nuances that the role gives her. Acting awards are usually not bestowed for genre films but it’s as good a performance as we’re likely to see this year. Dylan O’Brien, whom I had not seen in a film since his teen heartthrob days of Teen Wolf and The Maze Runner, has aged into a credible mature adult actor. His role is far less showy than Ms. McAdams’ is but he keeps pace with her and their work together gels in a satisfying way.
Mr. Raimi’s visual surprises are in evidence throughout and include some scenes with excess body fluids, some weirdly funny images in the plane crash sequence, and some POV tracking and zoom shots that leave you guessing whether you’re supposed to be horrified or full of the giggles. The vast majority of the film takes place on the island where our two protagonists find themselves marooned and Raimi finds lots of different environments and weathers to keep us entertained and not constrained.
The film is a bit gross at times, but generally a lot of fun and, if you’re a fan of Sam Raimi’s unique horror/comedy style, you won’t want to miss it. It’s also a chance to see a middle-aged actress at the top of her game morphing herself into various looks and personae with what seems minimal effort.
Cockatiel whispering. Wild boar hunt. Dead flight attendant. Gratuitous Bruce Campbell. Flashy engagement ring. Sacrificial boat captain. Disintegrating raft. Island retreat. Mango vomit.
Originally from Seattle Washington, land of mist, coffee and flying salmon, Mrs. Norman Maine sprang to life, full grown like Athena, from Andy’s head during a difficult period of life shortly after his relocation to Alabama.
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