Kate Plays Christine

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Kate Plays Christine

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Christine Chubbuck was a news reporter for Channel 40 in Sarasota, FL, until July 15, 1974, when she blew her brains out on the air. This is something of a Holy Grail for gore enthusiasts, since theoretically only one old, decomposing tape exists of this event -- the first of its kind, which set the stage for the likes of R. Budd Dwyer and all of our other favorite on-air suicides -- and it has never been (and likely will never be) released.

"Kate Plays Christine" is a movie about the journey of a young actress (Kate Lyn Sheil) tasked with playing Chubbuck in a biographical movie. It's a "making-of" documentary about a movie that was never released.

Or is it?

If you take the movie at face value, that it is actually what it says it is, you must come to three conclusions:

1. The movie they were making was going to be the worst movie of all time, so it's probably best they just released the making-of documentary.
2. "Kate", a virtually unknown actress, who plays Christine, needs to stop being such a drama queen and just read the fucking lines.
3. The story of Christine Chubbuck is still fascinating, and deserved better than this.

However, the very final scene reverses all of this, and I believe is an admission that the whole movie was a put-on, and it was really a calculated commentary on society's grotesque fascination with "blood and guts, in living color". Which, I mean, very clever, but fuck you.

It is mentioned several times that Chubbuck's suicide was a primary influence on the movie Network which came out the year after the on-air event occurred. That movie's protagonist, Howard Beale, is quoted liberally throughout. After being manipulated for two hours, and seeing Chubbuck's story turned into a gimmick to (almost literally) point the finger at the audience, I think we'd all have been better served by watching Network instead.

Now there's a movie.

RATING: I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to watch this anymore!
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Re: Kate Plays Christine

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Apparently there were two films about Christine Chubbuck released around the same time. Last week, I watched and reviewed the other one also released in 2016, simply titled Christine (my review).

The problem I had with Christine (which sounds like it was a more straight-ahead retelling of her story) was that they didn't do a great job conveying the intensity of her depression. They showed the relationship with her mother and getting passed over for a promotion, but it didn't seem bad enough for her to do what she did.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Kate Plays Christine

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I think I saw that Christine movie but they went in a serious 180 in terms of the actors. I think that because they saw what a drama queen the gal was that played her in that first movie, for the one I saw they cast a car.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

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Re: Kate Plays Christine

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I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

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Re: Kate Plays Christine

Post by Flack »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Fri Apr 19, 2019 2:24 pm I think I saw that Christine movie but they went in a serious 180 in terms of the actors. I think that because they saw what a drama queen the gal was that played her in that first movie, for the one I saw they cast a car.
I remember that one. It had bumper-to-bumper action.

(That one's for you, Commander.)
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

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