Whatever oedipal issues Ari Aster has, he really needs to keep it to himself. “Beau Is Afraid” is more “Beau Is A Boomerang”, as in a boomerang kid. There is no handbook to marriage, no handbook to parenting or fulfilling gender roles but in Aster’s world, there are, and every patriarchal figure (whether absent or pushed so far to the forefront they’re the protagonist) is a failure, guilty until proven innocent. The only plus about Beau is the psychedelic visual effects, but if a film as childish as a sequel to Dreamworks’ Trollz franchise can boast on par animated sequences in trailers, then this explains why there may be an abundance of visual effects in the credits : special effects just aren’t that special any more …
Beau was advertised as a comedy, but I don’t want to laugh at Joaquin Phoenix playing a mentally ill, arrested developed, 50 year old virgin. At least in Joker, I could laugh with Phoenix. In Beau the jokes are in bad taste. A giant penis and testes being stabbed should be considered a hate crime. I walked out of Scream VI for less. Beau Is Afraid is hate propaganda : hate towards male’s biologically and masculinity as a concept.
Ari might be upset that he was born a male but it’s 2023, go take some hormones. What Ari shouldn’t have did is put Joaquin Phoenix in a position to grovel to a terrible person who (according to the film’s logic) just because she has a vagina absolves her of all wrongdoing in life. Looks like Ari slept through Human Biology, because last time I checked a human female vagina needs to receive human male sperm to produce humanity. So Ari might want to think about that before he abuses more male genitalia on-screen or off.
Beau Is Afraid is the perfect example of SBE (Shame.Blame.Explain.) culture. A feminist film that also is a period piece since it does a great job on showing exactly the type of hell it is to be raised by a Boomer parent, something I know all to well of. Beau Is Afraid shows what damage a single mother raised environment can do to a child that will eventually become an adult.
Beau Is Afraid is a great bait and switch, a divine comedy – only if the audience is a room of misandrists!
SCORE:
1/5
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