Such a long title.
In 1986 a small road trip comedy film named "Something
Wild" with Jeff Daniels, Ray Liotta and Melanie Griffith was in need of a
stand out song. The Fine Young Cannibals provided that with their version of
"Ever Fallen in Love".
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| Something Wild indeed |
The video takes place in a cinema, because it's a song for a
movie, so where else would it take place. The cinema is filled with couples and
stereo types and what can only be described as pure shenanigans.
We start with a street scene and a church bell. For some reason two men walk in drag toward the cinema doing a
very bad impressions of women's voices "Hurry up I don't want to miss the
beginning." Says one. The other replies "You've already seen it four
times". The women make their way
into a busy cinema and take their seats. I'm sure, but I can't guarantee
they're played by bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox. From what I can
determine from the original film there is no reason for this what so ever. Such as
a similar scene.
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| I had hoped this was Jeff Daniels and Ray Liotta. |
We find Lead Singer Roland Gift going about his droll work as
a projectionist. Distracted by his singing he starts messing with the tracking
on the projector as scenes from "Something Wild" play on the screen.
This is a serious dick move on Roland's behalf but he doesn't give a fiddlers
and starts making the characters move back and forth frame by frame in time to
his music. A few audience members get angry and start throwing popcorn in his
direction. Suddenly as we see David Steele and Andy Cox again dressed as different
characters and then themselves in the audience, something magic happens, the
dialling effect of the projector starts effecting real life, forcing people in
the crowd to move back and forth intercut with shots of the film doing the
same.
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| Hairography |
This goes on for a while and it's actually really
entertaining. Just as you think you've forgotten about the other weird randomness
in this cool music video, Roland does a weird seizure dance to the bridge and beat break
down.
One of his band mates mysteriously grows a brown paper bag over his face.
Suddenly three band mates are dancing and singing in front of the screen fully
covered in brown paper bags. It's really odd and comes at you from nowhere.
Roland up in the projection studio sings his heart out as the song builds to
the big finish. Finally he just sneaks away having now destroyed all of space,
time and reality with his mischievous projectionist super powers. Hopefully leaving Doctor Who to come save the
day.
This video is great!
I loved it. What
really stood out for me was the creative use of the scenes from the film. Using the clips to their own needs was really refreshing
and way more interesting than what everyone else does, which is just intercut
scenes from the film. This video just played with the footage they were given
and messed around with it, making characters dance with a very simple editing
technique and turning it into a very entertaining music video.
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| boppin' |
The cross dressing band members is very similar to something
that has been being adopted by the likes of Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. It
seems a bit more Monty Python but with terrible acting and is just strangely
out of place. Had they fully embraced these characters and made them major
parts of the video it would have been better, but they're sort of just there.
As for the brown paper bag men? I'm scared.
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| The stuff of Nightmares |
Grand song but I think I prefer the original 1978 version by the Buzzcocks.
Have you ever fallen in love (With someone you shouldn't've)?
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