Mitchell Lichtenstein
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Filmography
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Connections, in both directions
Bonus: Lichtenstein got his start as an actor, with roles in films by Ang Lee (“The Wedding Banquet”) and Robert Altman (“Streamers”) and even an episode of “Cheers.”
It’s Lichtenstein’s first feature, but he’s no stranger to the film world, having played the gay love interest Simon in Ang Lee’s charming 1993 romantic comedy The Wedding Banquet, as well as gay soldier Richie in the 1983 drama Streamers.
He acted for a while too, starring in Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet.
This crazy concept is nothing new; it's been a feminine fable for generations and not too long ago there was even another indie of this ilk, Penetration Angst, starring Fiona Horsey as the beleaguered babe.
Dawn's dimpled, wholesome, all-American exterior conceals the lurking erotic fear and body-loathing within to an extent that would make Shivers-era David Cronenberg proud.
Because Teeth is also a horror movie, the root of her fear is physical, not psychological -- as Anne Carlisle put it in the druggy downtown classic Liquid Sky, "this pussy has teeth."
The camp sensibility, however, is fully self-aware, not unlike certain Todd Haynes' movies: the Barbie-doll biopic "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story," or the black-and-white venereal horror/sci-fi segment of "Poison."
And the humour is of the nature that is sure to elicit awkward fits of laughter, reminiscent of David Slade‘s Hard Candy or Mitchell Lichtenstein‘s Teeth , both horror films where women turn the tables on men.
The camp sensibility, however, is fully self-aware, not unlike certain Todd Haynes' movies: the Barbie-doll biopic "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story," or the black-and-white venereal horror/sci-fi segment of "Poison."
Then there’s Mitchell Lichtenstein’s Teeth , Roman Polanski’s pregnancy thriller Rosemary’s Baby , which doesn’t contain a hint of physical violence, and John Carpenter’s shape-shifting classic The Thing .
The end result has wit approximate to Todd Solondz's "Welcome to the Dollhouse," plus the cheap special effects and gratuitous, sexually charged carnage of a "Toxic Avenger" film.
While " Carrie " is the obvious influence (with genital transmogrification instead of telekinesis, and the other sex doing the bulk of the bleeding), "Teeth" could be seen as a "Reefer Madness" for the New Chastity Generation.
There's "Teeth," a 2007 horror-comedy, which provides an update on ancient "vagina dentata" folk tales and not-so-subtly grapples with ideas of emasculation and castration at the hands of sexually active women.
That era in sexist film paved the way for the return of rape-revenge stories, giving us films like Teeth (2007), which asks the question: What if every man is capable of evil?
Similar to Lucky McKee's May, but not as dour in its approach, the story focuses firmly on its idiosyncratic but likable heroine.
Indie filmmakers like Paul Solet (Grace), Mitchell Lichtenstein (Teeth), and Lucky McKee (May, The Woman) are clearly and admirably fascinated by females who exist in an environment of dark fiction, but let’s be frank here: there should be more horror films about women — that are also written and directed by women.
From the 2007 vagina dentata–themed flick Teeth, to werewolf puberty in the 2000 movie Ginger Snaps, to every other time a sexual experience has been paired with horrific violence, the message is clear: Sex can be scary.
In his debut feature, writer-director Lichtenstein tries too much to cover various genres: the comic-horror style of Little Shop of Horrors and Scream; the social satire of The Stepford Wives, in which an assortment of fellows think women are good for only one thing aside from cooking; the straight-out sci-fi horror popular in the ’50s; and a political spoof of abstinence clubs.
Incisive dialogue and disturbingly comical dismemberment scenes make the film by 52-year-old writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein the most promising horror/comedy debut since Eli Roth's "Cabin Fever" (2002), and Weixler makes a similarly formidable impression.
Female empowerment would have been the obvious message here, with Jennifer's bloody appetites stemming from a take-back-the-night scenario gone terribly awry (as in Teeth, a smart indie film from 2007), so it was a pleasure to see Cody and Kusama delving instead into the frequently disempowering effect of female friendships.
This passion leads to a romance with a white American (Jess Weixler of Teeth), a vastly improved restaurant and a re-engagement with his family, heritage andits cooking traditions.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
Directed by Werner Herzog
influenced by Teeth (2008)
The day after a fight with his wife (an excellent Jess Weixler of “Teeth”) — who’s accepted a high-paying job with a pharmaceutical company without discussing it with him first — he calls into work and says she won’t be coming because their infant son has suddenly passed away.