The spritely comedian Julio Torres works on a wavelength all his own. The thing you might know him most for is the Ryan Gosling/Papyrus sketch on SNL, which he wrote. But he gained a bit of a cult fanbase of his own with the HBO series Los Espookys, perhaps the first Spanish language series to break out on the premium cable channel’s core network. Los Espooky‘s minor success drew a number of viewers to Torres’ stand-up, which is situated somewhere between the anti-comedy trend of the early 2000’s, and the more childlike hue of Paul Reubens’ stage work in the 80’s. It was only a matter of time before he made a big screen breakout in his own starring vehicle, that he also wrote and directed it makes it all the more enticing.
Torres basically transplants his stage persona into Problemista, which centers on Alejandro – a Salvadoran migrant who lives in the heart of New York City, working a job minding the frozen remains of an outsider artist named Bobby (RZA). All day, Alejandro devises designs for new toys as he fantasizes about working for the Hasbro corporation. That same daydreaming leads to “disaster” of a sort, and then he finds himself without a job and without a sponsor. Enter Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), a notorious NYC art critic and Bobby’s lover, who is a walking hurricane of giant handbags, discarded water bottles, and general mania. Alejandro falls under Elizabeth’s orbit as he is in immediate need of a sponsor, or he’ll be ejected from the country; Elizabeth needs an assistant to revive Bobby’s reputation within the art community and to just generally get her life in order. I know it doesn’t sound that interesting when I describe it like that, but it’s the way the lines are colored that make this work.
For one, Problemista is a highly surreal film but one that is still digestible for the masses. As Alejandro’s world begins to collapse, we see him consistently break from reality. His navigation of the US’ overly cumbersome immigration system is broken by scenes of him literally sojourning through a maze of office spaces and cubbyholes. When he attempts to find gig work just to pay his rent, he communicates with an oracle in cyberspace that reads off the increasingly insane money-making opportunities that are available on Craigslist, and his ongoing back and forths with Elizabeth taking the shape of a young knight needing to slay a multi-headed dragon. Viewers get deep into Alejandro’s headspace and his naivety as he navigates our complex bureaucratic systems and trying to survive in the most oppressive city in the country.
But beyond its imaginary elasticity, its Torres’ jest that sets Problemista apart from the pack. I hate these types of comparisons, but what he nails here is a tone that plays like a mix of the outlandishness of After Hours and the whimsicality of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. As I left the theater, the latter was the first thing that crossed my mind and how we haven’t had a film that portrayed the largess of the greater world through immature eyes in the same way since, but that’s what Torres does. Even when Problemista enters into arguably dark territory, the film never really loses its intended spirit, one that never quite grates because it’s also very funny. I mean, really funny.
For all those reasons, you should go see it this week, that and the fact that Swinton’s portrayal of an utter human disaster is an early contender for my Best Supporting Actress vote. You just have to see it.