The Ape (2004)
Running time: 92 Minutes
Director: James Franco

In this dark comedy, James Franco plays Harry Walker, a would-be novelist who abandons his family, looses his job, and aleinates his friends after moving to a rented apartment to write an award winning novel, one stewing in the depth of his soul. The trouble is, he’s an unpublishable mediocre hack, his thoughts are jumbled, his typing tends toward the incoherent. Adding to his toubles is a mental projection from his inner being. He finds that he has to accept that he’s rooming with a wise-cracking, free-loading, attitude carrying gorilla in hawaii clothing. The metaphor is simplistic; The ape (Brian Lally) is Harry’s alter ego, a companion of acceptance that he’s not receiving from outside.
The film flows nicely though a noir tint and with an odd twist here and there. While never engaged in the tenents of the mental problems of Harry, one still might enjoy the antics of the Ape as he’s seemingly free of convention and morality. Lally as the Ape had a lot of the fun bits. He plays an Ape. An ape that talks, an ape that reads, and an ape that drives Harry crazy – from the inside out.
The ensemble of support added believeable structure to make Harry’s world work. A good job. Music and monkey credits added to the quirkiness of the piece.
The film was okay, maybe a 2.5 out of 5 rating for fiction, fun, and function. As a story, though, I found the conclusion unsatisfactory. Not because it didn’t work. It made sense as written. But only because I tend toward happier endings.
Eccentric but fun.
WFC