Films Outside the Loop Jeanne Chappé

Dennis Hopper plays Dr. Luther Waxling. Dr. Waxling is a self-help guru who has written an 'adventure' book..."Daniel Strong". Dr. Waxling's TV show is also the only thing you can find on TV in the middle of the night. There are four rules in the book but Rule #3 is the most interesting. "Just because it happened to you doesn't make it interesting!" How very true. Martin Merkheim is enthralled with this book and its message.

Griffin Dunne is Martin Merkheim. Martin is married to Lauren (Rosanna Arquette) but he practices celibacy (much to her relief). The movie begins with their meeting in the office of a tax accountant (Martin Scorsese) where they discuss the $147,000.00 that Martin owes the state of Florida! These scenes are hysterical and they set you up for the way that Martin's mind works.

Martin decides to raise the money to make the book "Daniel Strong" into a movie. Martin meets Kim Ulander (Christopher Walken) at a party at his brother-in-law's house. Kim may be a drug dealer but Kim is also a believer in the book. There is nothing scarier than a grin on Christopher Walken's face. Martin and Kim will meet again.

Martin flies to Dallas to meet Dr. Luther Waxling and purchase the rights to "Daniel Strong". However, his plans to meet Dr. Waxling are thwarted by Marie Davenport (Illeana Douglas) and Roger (Ethan Hawke), the doctor's loyal employees. Marie becomes less loyal after being laid by Martin. So much for celibacy! Marie has also written a movie script about a "spine-sucker" that shoots out something that looks like a gangrene penis with a lobster claw on the end of it! So...Martin and Marie (both with their own movie dreams) take the train to New York in search of financing. Marie has a cousin who paints with oven mitts in New York City! They can stay with her.

And so...Martin goes to see Kim in New York City for the financing of the movie "Daniel Strong". Their trip to a Japanese restaurant is not to be missed! There are apparently many dangers involved in financing a movie as you will soon discover.

Griffin Dunne plays the smarmy Martin with an ingenuous charm and Illeana Douglas is absolutely luminous. Dennis Hopper is right up front as a new age guru with the dollar signs in his eyes and Christopher Walken is chilling (especially when he grins). There are some interesting transitions in this movie that are reminiscent of 1940's movies...especially during the train ride from Dallas to New York City.

This movie definitely questions the definition of the word sanity. I think that it depends on the situation!

Runtime: 1:31

This film is available on DVD, VHS, cable or satellite.

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