It gets a B-, and this is mainly due to the first half of the film. The plot goes something like this: Camille (Miller) is this flighty blonde sweetheart hopelessly devoted to Silas (Franco), a petty thief her uncle (a parole officer) is in charge of and mildly dislikes. They live in Podunk, KY.
Silas doesn’t love Camille, however. He’s realized her dream to honeymoon in Niagara Falls will get him across the Canadian border and away from his troubles with the law. Because his parole officer is her uncle, he’s agreed to turn a blind eye to Silas’s trip.
Off they go on a motorcycle with a pink side car, Camille annoying Silas with her happiness, Silas silently stewing. They stop at a diner and meet an old cowboy (the late, great David Carradine—though this is hardly his best work) with a collection of rainbow-colored horses. There’s an accident, Camille dies, Silas runs to a farmhouse for help but chickens out after dialing 911 and—truly—accidentally robs the housewife there.
A dark comedy of errors ensues and the movie begins to finally pick up. Camille, now dead and decaying, though a physical presence Silas brings along and cares for (buying her a wig and bathing her in phemaldehyde to help mask her funk), they run from the law who thinks Silas is a robber and murderer. Throughout their trip, which culminates in Niagara Falls, Silas’s guilt over killing Camille turns into actual feelings for her, and she becomes less and less annoying as she deals with the fact that she’s now one of the undead.
Kudos especially goes to Miller’s acting here, as she pulls off a Kentucky accent properly, being British and all. Of course, Franco can do no wrong ever. The main problem both lead actors deal with in Camille is the lack of good script. Even in the early points of the storyline, before the adventure scenes rescue the film, their raw acting talent comes through in situations where Franco is angry and Miller’s feelings are hurt. They both can wrinkle a mighty brow.
I assume the movie was low budget, as the special effects aren’t top notch and the costumes are a little misguided. It appears the costume designer and director had an indie carnival-meets-Midwest vibe in mind, and it shows in subtle ways like the layers in Camille’s wedding dress. Unfortunately, I don’t think they got enough of the fashion into the movie to make it cohesive. Sometimes they just looked cheap, which is unfortunate.
So, bottom line, it’s a good movie to watch when it’s free on Netflix. I’ll watch it again either late at night and bored, or when my girlfriends and I are hardcore James Franco chatting and I get to say “I found a new one!”
