A "Hollywood Ending' For America: How Much More Of Your Family’s Blood And Treasure...?

23 December 2010

By Keith Johnson

Matty: You aren’t too smart, are you? I like that in a man.
                                                         from Body Heat (1981) 

Did you hear the one a bout the guy who had everything, only to lose it all to the connivance of an evil seductress?

It’s a familiar story that has been the subject of countless novels and films. It became quite popular during the 1940’s and 1950’s, giving rise to the ‘film noir’ genre that brought us such classics as Gilda, Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. A revival, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, put a modern spin on that theme with critically acclaimed features like Body Heat, Fatal Attraction and The Last Seduction.

In these films, the femme fatale—French for “deadly woman”—usually enlists the help of some hapless bloke to help advance her hidden agenda. To this end, she will use her feminine wiles to ensnare him, and then ultimately employ lying and coercion to control and manipulate him further, until she has finally achieved her objective.

The conclusions are often the same. After helping the woman with her schemes, the man is usually discarded, and left alone to answer for her crimes. By the time he finds out that he has been betrayed, the woman has already left—and has moved on to her next victim—leaving him a broke and ruined man.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s the story of America, and how one ‘special relationship’ with a foreign nation brought it to the edge of ruin.

I can only imagine how that story might play out on the big screen. Unfortunately—given today’s political environment—that’s not likely to happen.

But that’s not to say that some clever screenwriter couldn’t find a way to tell the story anyway. Crafty storytellers and filmmakers—who have lived under repressive regimes— have always found ways to slip in political messages past unsuspecting censors. They do so by way of analogies and parables, often using human dramas or tragedies to illustrate the larger political realities of their societies.

Here’s how I’d pitch America’s story to a big-shot Hollywood producer:

Rick is a well-respected member of his community, who has built a thriving business empire out of a vast fortune left to him by his late father. He has a lovely wife and several grown children who are integrally involved in the day-to-day operations of his enterprise.

One day, Rick’s wife introduces him to Isabelle, an old friend who has fallen on hard times as the result of a messy divorce. Rick takes pity on the woman, and invites her to stay with his family until she can manage to get back on her feet.

Over the course of several weeks, Isabelle proves to be a troublesome houseguest. She constantly complains about the food, the temperature of the room, the décor, and even the color of the walls. She has also voiced her objections to certain religious symbols displayed prominently throughout the house, deeming them to be offensive to her own religious beliefs.

More time passes, and now, two of Rick’s children—Edward and Chloe—have grown impatient with the insolent Isabelle, who has become less of a houseguest, and more of a permanent fixture. In Edward and Chloe’s estimation, Isabelle has now become a burden, surviving solely upon the welfare afforded to her by their family, and making no effort to take responsibility for her own life.

Fearing that Isabelle has taken their family’s kindness for weakness, Edward and Chloe take their grievances up with their father. But they find that this once reasonable and approachable man has become somewhat aloof—and even hostile—to the criticism they’ve leveled against Isabelle. Rick scolds his children for being insensitive, and reminds them that Isabelle has lived an extraordinarily difficult life, suffering at the hands of many brutal husbands. He insists that they afford her every consideration so that she may heal her emotional wounds on her own terms.

Frustrated with their father’s sudden lapse of reason, Edward and Chloe decide to appeal to other siblings, hoping that they might be more sympathetic to their concerns. But, to their surprise, they find that even their own brothers and sisters have been taken in by Isabelle’s hard luck story.

Finally, they take up the issue with their mother, who has fallen ill in recent days. Lying in her bed—despondent and melancholy—the mother confides in her children, “I never should have invited that woman into our house.”

Shocked and dismayed by this revelation, Edward and Chloe press their mother to elaborate. They learn that she has recently confirmed that their father and Isabelle have been carrying on an affair behind her back, and that she fears that Isabelle may have been working to break up their family by spreading lies and rumors among their brothers and sisters.

Now deeply troubled, Edward and Chloe insist that their mother confront their father over the affair. But the mother refuses, fearing that a confrontation would destroy what’s left of their almost broken home.

But this point soon becomes irrelevant—because unbeknownst to them all—Rick has been listening in on their conversation. He crashes into the room and accuses his children of betrayal. Edward and Chloe level those accusations right back at him. An ugly scene erupts, and Rick orders his wife and two children out of the house.

Several months pass. Isabelle has become the center of Rick’s world. Not only has she been given full reign over his household, but she has also become influential over most of his business decisions. As a result, Rick’s empire begins to falter. The respect he once enjoyed in his community also suffers. Though everyone else can see Rick’s world collapsing all around him, he remains blinded by his infatuation with Isabelle.

Confident that he has proven his devotion to Isabelle beyond any doubt, Rick is surprised to find his overtures toward intimacy rejected. Isabelle has become frigid. Every time he tries to show her any affection in the bedroom, she turns her back on him and turns out the light.

After several nights of frustration, Rick confronts her. He wants to know what he has done wrong. Isabelle tells him that she has “trust issues,” and finds it difficult to bond with any man. She fears that Rick may grow tired of her—and cast her aside—like so many others have done in the past. Rick tries to convince her that he would never do such a thing. He asks what he could do to convince her. Isabelle tells him that she has never had a home of her own, and that as long as she lived under someone else’s roof, she would always live in fear that she could be disposed of on a whim.

Rick promises to give her that home, and soon learns that Isabelle has already been eyeing some beachfront property on the other side of town.

Meanwhile, Edward and Chloe have been making some inquiries about Isabelle, and learn that she has a checkered past with a history of manipulating men. They take this information to their father, but find the same cold reception. Rick tries to brush them aside, but Edward and Chloe corner their father, and make one final attempt to reason with him.

Chloe tells her father, “Dad, this woman is bad news. She has had several husbands, and all of them have dumped her for the same reason. She is only out to enrich herself. She finds wealthy men to latch on to, and then takes them for all they’ve got. I know she always portrays herself as the victim, but think about it? If someone tells you that they were kicked out of a bar for no reason, you may show sympathy on them that one time. But if they get kicked out of every bar in town, you might start to wonder if there’s more to the story.”

The common sense in their argument resonates with Rick. He breaks down and cries. He confesses that he may have gotten in over his head, but he can’t see any way out of it.

Edward asks his father, “You’re a six foot, two hundred pound man. How can you possibly be intimidated by a five foot, one hundred pound woman?”

Rick confesses that he has placed himself in a vulnerable position by compromising his integrity. He tells them that Isabelle has persuaded him to engage in illegal activities that could ultimately bring down the family empire. He fears that Isabelle might use this information—to do just that—if he were to break things off prematurely.

Edward and Chloe tell their father that he needs to cut his losses and end this toxic relationship before things spiral out of control. But Rick has other plans.

“Just let me do this one last thing,” he reasons. “I’ll give her this home she wants, and then tell her that she is on her own.”

Rick explains that Isabelle has set her sights on some beachfront property. She claims that she is entitled to the land because it was illegally taken from her great grand parents—by ruthless land barons—several generations ago.

Edward and Chloe tell their father that her notion is preposterous. They are familiar with the property in question, and inform Rick that the people living there have owned that land for close to a century.

But Rick has already made his decision.

“I have to do this,” Rick tells his children. “I have no choice!”

Using his money and influence, Rick convinces the city council that the beachfront property on the south end of town should be cleared away—in order to make room for a new recreation facility—that will bring in millions of dollars in revenue, and hundreds of jobs to the local community. He promises to put up his own money to construct the facility, but needs the city fathers to use eminent domain laws to displace the current property owners from the land.

Weeks later; bulldozers arrive on the beach to level homes that have been there for decades. Police are mobilized to deal with any resistance.

It’s an ugly scene, as many homeowners refuse to leave. Those who are not arrested flee into the nearby hills.

Once the homes are leveled, and the debris is cleared away, Rick begins construction. But the recreational facility—that he promised to build—never materializes. Instead, a lavish mansion is constructed in honor of his mistress.

Outrage within the community sparks rebellion. Rick is blamed for the turmoil. Though he is hated and despised, he has no choice but to finish what he has started. He uses his last remaining dollars to buy off the local police so they can enforce the acquisition.

Meanwhile, Isabelle has moved into her new digs, and has used Rick’s money to finance a security team to ward off intruders.

Edward and Chloe have now become sympathetic to the plight of the vanquished landowners. They organize a flotilla to bring aid and supplies to the refugees. But they can only reach them by passing through a delta that comes dangerously close to Isabelle’s coastline. Confident that this seaway is public domain, Edward and Chloe embark on their rescue mission. But their efforts are cut short—when Isabelle’s security team intercepts them—and murders nine of their crewmembers. Edward and Chloe are among the casualties.

Rick is informed of the death of his two children, but refuses to accept responsibility. He has been corrupted beyond the point of redemption, and has decided to redefine his definition of “family.”

That’s my ‘Hollywood ending.’

But it doesn’t have to end this way. We still have a chance to turn things around.

This nation is long overdue for an intervention.

It’s high time we took our philandering government aside and let them know—in no uncertain terms—that we will no longer tolerate their infidelity.

Here’s what we need to tell them:

“It’s time to come home and take care of the FAMILY business. No more running around with that no-good, freeloading, gold digging WHORE from the Middle East.

Cut her off! Kick her to the curb! Time to put an end to this toxic relationship once and for all!”

It’s really not an insurmountable task. But it does require that each and every one of us start reading from the same sheet of music.

So, how’s it gonna be?

Is there anyone else out there who is as sick and tired of this BITCH as I am?

If you’re not, then I really need to ask you a serious question?

How much more of your family’s blood and treasure are you going to let this woman steal from you—before you finally wise up—take a stand—and start singing the same damn tune as the rest of us.

Are you with us? Then sing-a-long!

Hit it, Maestro!

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