Messages and morals can be found in most any film or story. They help us think about real-life issues. Most people would agree that morals are a good thing to have. But at the same time, when a message is shoved down your throat it’s not exactly what I’d call ‘entertaining’. Joe Knight’s The Blue Rose is an after school special for those who grew up with the original after school specials back in the ’70s and ’80s, complete with special guest stars.
By day Vince (Joe Knight) is a real estate agent. By night he’s a petty drug dealer who dips into his stock every now and again. Vince is also very much a bachelor on the lookout for the perfect woman. In walks Andrea (Nancy Weyrauch) a single mom going through an awkward divorce where her husband has discovered he’s actually gay. Gasp!
Vince sells Andrea a house and wins her heart in the process. All is swell in new love until Andrea catches Vince snorting at her house. With her young daughter near by. Double gasp!
Vince, being the slimeball that he is convinces Andrea to try some for herself. And like that the perfect couple is now a pair of strung-out junkies. Who’d of thunk it?
As one might expect with such a plot, The Blue Rose is high on the melodrama. The film focuses more on getting its message, no matter how noble, across rather than focusing on basic storytelling. The characters, from the leading to the supporting, are all distinguished by one or two characteristics. Because Andrea has the most extreme transformation in the film, she comes close to being engaging. However, she simply goes from a one-note song to another.
And if Knight really wanted to get a message across with The Blue Rose, he comes across the wrong way doing it. Salesmen are like morals – you have to make people believe what you’re selling, pitching, shilling is the best option out there. So to prove your point, you want to come across as authentic as possible. The Blue Rose comes across more like the stereotypical used car salesman complete with mustache and greasy comb-over hairstyle. It’s so stilted and inauthentic that I didn’t want to get near what Knight was pitching even though I already agree with his message.
A familiar selling technique is to use celebrities to endorse your products. While The Blue Rose doesn’t have any household names, it does have a couple of faces from the past people might recognize. First is Dee Wallace Stone, best known as the mom from ET. Next up is Daniel Baldwin of Baldwin Brothers fame. Finally there’s Danny Trejo, a character actor if there ever was one. You probably don’t know the name but when you see his face you’ll recognize him. While known actors do give a film a certain level of attention, here it works as a distraction. Although none of these three have major roles, when they are on screen I found myself pointing and going, “Hey, it’s Elliot’s mom!” or “It’s a Baldwin!” Their parts aren’t in the least bit meaty so it comes across as they were written in because the actors were available.
Ultimately I wonder if Knight was too involved in the process. Directing, writing, starring – this is his baby. While I’d say this is as much his vision as anyone else’s, he may have found himself too wrapped up in the process than to see the finished product with a critical eye. The Blue Rose is valiant in that it sheds light on an angle of drug abuse that is somewhat unique, but the shallowness with which the overall presentation comes across is a huge turnoff.
