FILM: Andrew Worsdale
`OH Shucks!” you might say, “there’s another Schuster movie opening countrywide.” Many culture vultures and intellectuals regard Leon Schuster as a schlockmeister; but his continual success at the box-office (There’s A Zulu on My Stoep outperformed Die Hard with a Vengeance in Germany and his films have sold to over 40 countries worldwide) suggests he must be doing something right.
Schuster’s mix of candid camera lampoonery and coarse storylines are consistent with the historic style of South African comedy – from Al Debbo to Jamie Uys, to whom Schuster is the natural-born successor.
His latest effort, Panic Mechanic, revolves around a successful games show host Shucks (played by Schuster) who loses his job through affirmative action and ends up producing candid camera videos for Jack Paddaman’s Stress Academy. Shyster Paddaman, played with glee by Frantz Dubrowsky, plans to make a film to help the President’s Children’s Fund and steal the proceeds … Of course, good old Leon comes to the rescue.
What’s interesting about Schuster’s latest films is the way they have touched on current politics. Sweet and Short was his take on the new South Africa; There’s a Zulu on My Stoep used reconciliation as its theme. Panic Mechanic explores the nature of South African stress.
As co-writer Gus Silber, award-winning satirist and journalist, puts it, “A lot of his humour comes from pushing people too far. There’s something funny in excessively stressful situations. Leon uses the intense racial and political situation and takes it to the limits.” As for the derision for some of Schuster’s work, Silber says: “A lot of intellectuals have a kind of allergic reaction to his films. I think it’d be a good idea if they were locked in a room and you threw away the key, and they were forced to watch his movies. They’d have to laugh, even if only at how seriously we take life in South Africa.”
Director David Lister agrees. “This is definitely his funniest picture to date, partly because it has its finger firmly on the pulse of what’s happening in the country in terms of things like affirmative action, crime and violence.”
Schuster has undoubtedly progressed from his early days as a simple prankster. He started out with a radio show called Waar en Wolhaar, where he took the piss out of the public with hoax phone calls. His work has matured a little, although Lister firmly believes his finest work is yet to come. “Look, I like movies like Burnt by the Sun and I admire Bergman and so on, but I believe in entertainment and Leon is a master at that.”
Part of the reason for his enormous popularity is that he appeals to such a broad cross-section of people. Silber says: “Schuster has been reaching for a different style, a crossover audience if you like. His style is rooted in a firm South African tradition but it’s also like watching a silent movie, because so much of the humour is physical. So there are no cultural or language barriers. It’s like equal opportunity comedy that strikes a uniquely South African chord .”
The movie was shot on Super 16 to ensure a high shooting ratio because of all the candid camera stuff, where there were often three or four cameras operating at once. It was then blown up to 35mm for release. Schuster, a perfectionist and an energetic taskmaster, had sinus problems during the shoot and was hospitalised for a week but the picture still came in on time and within its budget of R4.5-million.
To cover costs, including prints, advertising and distribution, Panic Mechanic will have to generate at least R10-million, but with an unprecedented release of 83 prints for a local film and the funnyman’s proven popularity, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Schuster was not available for comment. His wife said on the phone earlier this week: “It’s been a hell of a tough year for him so he’s taking a break. He’s gone deep-sea fishing on the East Coast.”
The workaholic funnyman will probably dream up another movie while he kills innocent fish and addles his active brain in the hot African sun.