MOVIE REVIEW: SPECIAL NEEDS
Written by Colin Vettier
Published May 28, 2007
(English translation by Renée Schetritt)

Click here to view original French Review

A talented young director uses “Troma Entertainment” as a springboard to prove his talents to the the world. Caution, this film can sting a bit.

Warren Piece, with his dyed blond hair and affected speech is a self made purveyor of televised excrement. Piece is trusted implicitly by (corporate heads) Big Wigs at CNT network, provided his Reality TV concepts remain lucrative. So what if he degrades participants, the audience loves it!

For that reason, Piece is supremely confident when he presents his latest idea to his cohorts, “Handicaps.” Several physically & mentally handicapped contestants will live in a house together for a prescribed amount of time. The grand prize? New wheelchairs, seeing eye dogs etc.

Behind the scenes the producers vent their bitterness on the PA’s (Production Assistants) and tensions escalate. The dice are rolled as the casting process begins. “Good handicaps are hard to find,” complains one of the dream team members.

Isaak James uses the mockumentary genre to make his entrance into the world of Troma. "We were thrilled when Troma took an interest in “Special Needs,” explains the director, “We sent the film into Troma and Lloyd got back to us within a few days saying he loved it. It was refreshing after the numerous wrist slappings we received from less daring distributors.”
It was essential to have a bold distributor, capable of thumbing its nose at what is considered “politically correct.” Who better than Lloyd Kaufman and his merry band of “tromatized” to fill these shoes? The New York based firm had already made a great leap the previous year by distributing “Lollilove,” an acidic mockumentarry lampooning a bourgeoisie couple that becomes involved with charitable actions solely to make themselves look good.

In comparison, it appears that “Lollilove” benefited from a (relatively) larger production budget, however, Special Needs circumvents the pitfalls of a budgetary restraints by playing the plain mockumentary card. The number of characters and locations is stripped down to the bare essentials. (Most of the action takes place in a simple conference room) Likewise, the footage does not drag in length and does the tour of its subject in a mere 86 minutes. This duration may appear a bit short, however, it is in fact a compromise between density and in depth (what “Special Needs” lacks in length it makes up for in depth.)

With two pieces of string and several inspired actors, Isaak James has constructed a film of rare impertinence. James, (who appeared on a realty TV show himself), doesn't pull any punches in his depiction of the television genre. He explains that his experience, gave him an insight into how things work behind the scenes.

The protagonists in this film are enough to frighten anyone. They are sinister opportunists eager to sink their teeth into the next sordid idea. In their world it’s not about humanity nor decency, it’s about profit and celebrity.

Though the concept of televising a person’s disability to boost ratings is amoral and repulsive it raises the following question: “What kind of society engenders people ready to exhibit their weaknesses on television?” We are continually confronted with this problematic juxtaposition of morality and voyeuristic thrill. All of characters in this film, however, have lost any kind of moral judgement for too long on their quest for fame and fortune.

“Special Needs” is as much about reality TV as Orwell's "Animal Farm" is about talking pigs. It’s a social satire served up in a hard candy shell.” In other words, Isaak James’ feature is a criticism of society disguised as entertainment. Whether it’s about handicaps, superficial celebrities or aspiring pop stars the concept remains the same: serve up a company’s shit with a gigantic televised spoon. Just as Mr. Lelay (CEO of France’s Channel 1) said so well, the ultimate goal of this masquerade is “to sell minutes of available brain time to Coca-Cola.” On your marks! Get brainwashed! Consume (Drink)!

The concept utilizing the handicapped is a very sly move on behalf of the American director. This forces the spectator to come face to face with his/her own idiocy. For the TV (télévore means “tv eater” in the way one would watch anything as soon as it’s on tv) “Handicaps” should be the hair that broke the camel’s back. To watch these poor human beings humiliated and allow themselves to be humiliated could cast an audience into the throws of miserable, intellectual reflection. However, this is where the intelligence of film intervenes. The dark subject matter is offset by the ridiculous antics of the producers, portrayed as self centered, egotistical stereo types whose only skills is to look like clowns on any occasion. None of them can resist to fit in some clichés. Phillis, for example represents the typical Brooklyn talent agent, complete with an accent so thick you can cut it with a knife. She continually shouts her secret to success in t he entertainment industry: “Dye your fuckin’ hair blond.” At the same time the production assistants are treated as sub-human slaves, who comment on the tyranny of their employers yet participate in their malevolent activities all the same.

The world of real tv is one where people are always at each others throat, Warren Piece and his associates are here to confirm it with losses and noises. The loss will come from the annihilation of your spleen and zygomatic, while the noise will be the crack of your laugh.

Special Needs depicts a sad panorama of the audiovisual-visual universe. Visionary? Certainly, since well after he had completed his film, Isaak and his team discovered that a real television program featuring the physically handicapped was airing in the Netherlands.
Reality TV no longer has to envy the savage games that allowed Rome to subdue its people and transform them into a mass of subservient citizen’s. The shape has changed but the method remains the same.

If a spectator laughs while watching Special Needs, he also clenches his teeth. He covers his face with his hands leaving only a slight space between his fingers to catch a glimpse of the screen. “They dared!”. To dare, a word all too often omitted from the lexicon of modern filmmaking.
Isaak James went after a big fish but his absence of a budget did not break his line. On the contrary the topic is only more deep rooted. So what if he is obliged to write, direct, produce, compose and act? As the adage goes in the world of independent cinema: One is never better served then by oneself.

In conclusion, to have the audacity to produce a film so controversial demands respect and recognition. Indeed, Special Needs has been an official selection of three American film festivals, an esteem justly deserved.