Review of GOING POSTAL

GOING POSTAL:
This is another story about Terry Pratchett's discworld (see the review on HOGFATHER below). MOIST VON LIPWIG is a genial confidence man who is caught by the police and offered an alternative--death or revitalizing the post office.  Since the development of an invention called 'clacks'--a system like a telegraph but using long metal rods and light flashes instead of electricity--people no longer send letters, and the postoffice is desolate, dusty, and filled to overflowing with undelivered letters.  Moist tries to escape this job several times, but is always captured and brought back by an amiable golem called PUMP. Moist accepts the inevitable, returns to the post office, and does a good job of restoring it, in the process inventing stamps and perforations, express mail and other niceties. However, the owner of the clacks, REACHER GILT, is determined not to allow competitors, and is not above such tricks as arson and assassination to maintain his monopoly on messages. In addition to renovating the post office and avoiding both the hangman and Gilt's murderous antics, Moist falls in love with the owner of the Golem Trust, ADORA BELLE DEARHEART. He learns that the deeds in his former life as a conman were not the harmless pranks he had thought, and discovers that Adora's father was one of the people hurt by his schemes.  In addition to everything else, he must convince Adora of a noble character in spite of his tawdry past.

This is typical Pratchett insanity and is a lot of fun. The plot in this one is mostly coherent and the characters are interesting. The music is light and fits well with the mood. It didn't get my pulse up as much as HOGFATHER, but is still exciting enough to get +++ - it will get your pulse up as much as a jog. If you see it, let me know what you think.

Review of 'HOGFATHER'

HOGFATHER:

In far distant space is a planet shaped like a flat circle. It rests on the backs of four elephants that stand on the shell of a massive tortoise that swims through space (presumably near a star). This is discworld, the creation of Terry Pratchett, who has written more than thirty novels about this strange place.  Life on discworld is similar, but not quite the same as on Earth. The Hogfather is a typical example. Every year, on Hogswatch eve, this jolly, red-suited man with a snout and tusks like a hog travels in a sleigh drawn by four flying boars to deliver presents throughout the world.

Other characters in the story include:

Auditors, ghost-like creatures who want to kill Hogfather.

Mr. Teatime (four syllables, please, or he gets upset), the professional assassin hired for the job. Teatime sounds like a psychopathic version of Johnny Depp's benignly schizophrenic Willy Wonka.

Death, a pleasant and courteous skeleton with bright blue pinprick eyes who is trying to save Hogfather because if people don't believe in Hogfather, the sun won't rise the next morning. Death dresses up as Hogfather with a red suit, but he has difficulty with the ho-ho-ho's and can't understand why rich children get more toys than poor ones.

Susan, Death's adopted granddaughter. Though adopted, she still has some of grandpop's traits. She does not suffer fools gladly.

The Tooth Fairy, actually a whole franchise of young women who take teeth and leave money. The real Tooth Fairy is the reformed bogeyman.

Bilious, the god of hangovers, in a Roman toga.

The verrucas gnome, the hair-loss god, and various other minor deities.

           

As for plot, let me just say it's complicated and doesn't always make sense. The music is appropriately funny and sinister in turn. Towards the end, the movie slows and gets a bit preachy, but it isn't too bad.

Like other films reviewed here, Hogfather is not for everyone. If you aren't familiar with Terry Pratchet and if you like satire, this movie is a good introduction to the Discworld. I rate it ++++.  It gets my pulse up as much as a run. If you see it, let me know what you think.