Poll Position: JCVD (2008)

This last week's poll focused on the films of Jean-Claude Van Damme. I know the poll didn't have very many classics of his, but I had to make the poll from the selection of DVDs starring Mr. Van Damme that I had with me here in B.C. The winner of the poll was the most recent of the selections, JCVD. I've been wanting to see this one for a while; I had heard it was quite good. The twist here is that Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in the film. So was this movie a knock-out punch, or did it just fall flat? Find my thoughts after the jump.


The most fun part of the film is the fact that Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in the movie. The premise seems to be set up as a believable scenario for his life. He's only getting really bad budget action movie roles, and he's having problems in his personal life, resulting in a custody battle over his daughter. Struggling to get the funds to continue to pay his lawyer, he has a producer send him a cash advance on his next film, and heads to the post office to pick it up. Unknown to him, it is currently being robbed and he gets mixed up in the situation when a police officer only sees Jean-Claude through a window yelling at him to get away. Soon after, shots are fired into the street at the officer, leading everyone to believe Van Damme is robbing the post office.

One thing I didn't realize about JCVD is that it is primarily in French. It makes sense since Jean-Claude speaks French as his first language. There are a few other languages in the film, but the majority of it is in French. Keep this in mind if you're not a fan of reading subtitles, or on the other hand, if you understand French.

Jean Claude regards himself in the mirror, weary of the way his life has been turning

I was half expecting this to be an all out action movie, as that is what Van Damme is known for, but I also knew this film was going to be quite different. What I found was a film about the difficulties and pressures of fame, and how it is hard to be thankful when everything can go so wrong, and yet you still know that you should be thankful. Towards the end of the film, there is even a 6 minute monologue in which Jean-Claude addresses these issues directly to the audience.

We see him sitting in the post office and we can hear a radio or TV program with annoying hosts blathering on about nothing important. Suddenly Jean-Claude's chair starts to float into the ceiling and we see the stage lighting above the set. He talks as if he can tell it's a movie, but then admits that it's not just a movie, and it's real.

While at first I was confused that they were just breaking down the fourth wall like that, I then realized it was more like he had been thinking of this serious situation as if it was a movie for the sake of his sanity. During this monologue he comes to terms with the possible severity of the situation, and that he should do something to help save the other people. Even though he's just a regular guy, more is still expected of him in every situation. As he floats back down to the floor, we hear the blathering TV hosts repeat what we had just heard them say moments ago, and we realize all of this self-analyzing has occurred within a split second in the world of the film.

Van Damme shows an impressive range of emotions which he isn't usually allowed to do in his other films

I was surprised by the amount of truthfulness and emotion Van Damme shows in the movie, and while it didn't hit me right in the heart, I still believed what I was seeing and felt he was being sincere. It was definitely a different sort of a role, and had this odd twist of being half true. I say "half true" because he is playing himself, and a lot of the topics mentioned are based on his real life, but at the same time many facts of his life in the film are not true in real life. JCVD is actually like watching an alternate reality when I think about it.

I also liked how they played with time in the movie. First we see a scene from the perspective of the cops, and later we see the same scene play out but from the perspective of Jean-Claude. It really gave you the full picture in terms of what is going on in this world and in the scenes. You could completely understand why it seemed like he was the robber holding the people hostage, but then you get to see it from his point of view and you can then totally sympathize with his situation.

I enjoyed seeing Van Damme in a more dramatic role than his usual fair, and I really hope he's given more chances like this so stretch his acting chops, and not just his biceps. Although, even while I say that, I have to admit that the idea of him appearing in The Expendables 2 next year is still pretty exciting. I know Puneet hasn't see many, if any, Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, so maybe I'll have to change that in the future. In the meantime, why don't you check out JCVD, I think most people will find it fairly interesting.