Johnny Suede

JOHNNY SUEDE's stylish, dreamlike mood and abstract dialogue cannot compensate for its unsatisfying storyline and characters. The main problem is that Johnny is almost entirely passive: he drifts lackadaisically through the story, very rarely fighting back or generating any real conflict. The film is occasionally intriguing on a visual level, thanks to the deliberately generic, anonymous urban setting, some Fellini-esque casting choices and, above all, Johnny's outrageous pompadour hairstyle. Ultimately, though, this is a derivative blend of surface elements from three far better films: Martin Scorsese's AFTER HOURS, Jonathan Demme's SOMETHING WILD and David Lynch's BLUE VELVET.