Oz.


First off let me say Kristen Wiig is has a great movie here despite folks that wanted more.

The movie opens of course with the scene from the school play Wizard Of Oz, where the character says what's so great about going back home?
But what I was wondering is if any one else caught the Oz subtleties in the rest of the film,
Lee (Darren Chris) is the scarecrow,
Her dad is the "man behind the curtain" Oz.
Her brother is both the Tin Man (with the crab suit) and the cowardly Lion.

Not a total metaphor of course, just inspiration?

reply

Good one I hadn't caught that :)

reply

I picked up on the connections also, because at one point I heard the song "Tin Man" by America playing as background music, and that song also heavily references "The Wizard of Oz".

If Lee is the Scarecrow (he went to Yale, so he has "brains"), and her brother is the Lion/Tin Man, then her mother is sort of the well-intentioned but bubble-headed Good Witch Glinda, and Imogene's "best friend" was like the Wicked Witch. I'm surprised they didn't have Imogene throw a bucket of water on her at the party.

And she travels with her odd companions to NYC/Emerald City, only to find that the Wizard (her father) isn't the man she thought he was. You could even draw a connection between Imogene's suicide attempt and Dorothy being hit on the head during the cyclone if you want.

But this also suggests a new interpretation of "The Wizard of Oz" - what if Dorothy's fantasy represents her search for her father, or a father figure? The memory of her mother (Glinda) guides her through her own subconscious to get at the truth - does this mean that traveling psychic Professor Marvel is Dorothy's real father?

reply

Who's the Bousche? Toto?

reply