Film Review: Don’t Say That You Love Me in Kevin Smith’s ‘Tusk’

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CHICAGO – The headline is a quote (“Don’t say that you love me!”) from Fleetwood Mac’s song “Tusk,” which Kevin Smith gratefully includes in his film of the same name. The movie is either the most outrageous audacity of the year or a blatant middle finger from Smith to the audience. You decide.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

I liked it, I hated it, I was mesmerized by some of the lengths the story took to stay on track. There were times during the proceedings where it seemed like the whole thing was a fraud, in the sense that Wizard-of-Oz like, Smith was going to walk on camera and say, “ha, dopes, you fell for it” (but he would have said something more piquant than “dopes”). The film defies logic, definition or a basis in dreamland, but it makes up in chutzpah, which has never been lacking in Smith. Whatever the final analysis will be, this is the type of movie that only the individual can put through their perspective to completely understand.

Wallace (Justin Long) and Teddy (Haley Joel “The Sixth Sense” Osment) are popular online podcasters. Their show consists of finding random video clips throughout the web and commenting upon them. They have an odd partnership – Teddy will not leave Los Angeles, so Wallace goes on the road to find the subjects of their derision.

One of the videos that they comment upon is the “Kill Bill Kid.” The Kid lives in Canada, and Wallace takes to that road to interview him, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Ally (Genesis Rodriquez). The interview comes to a dead end, so Wallace finds another subject, Howard Howe (Michael Parks), who turns out to be more than expected. When Wallace goes missing, it’s up to Teddy, Ally and a hapless Canadian ex-police inspector, Guy (Johnny Depp), to find the missing podcaster before it’s too late.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Tusk”

Wallace (Justin Long) Reacts to His Fate in ‘Tusk’
Photo credit: A24

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Tusk”