Usually, when I watch an entire series or filmography, I’ll just post a ranking of it all. But with Lynch, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not only was I not sure if I should include Twin Peaks (and how could it not be at the top of the list just for the sheer insanity of The Return?), it just didn’t make sense to rank his films because, depending on my mood, his films would shift wildly in ranking.
But my when my brother asked what my favorite Lynch film was over the weekend, I had no problem picking Blue Velvet. I might have a couple controversial thoughts about Lynch’s films, like preferring Lost Highway over Mulholland Drive or placing Wild at Heart near the top of my favorites, but I can never shake one basic ass opinion about his work: Blue Velvet is his masterpiece.
Sure, plenty of people have favorites over Blue Velvet, but it seems like the consensus pick as the film that cemented him as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. I enjoy Blue Velvet much more than just as a symbol of Lynch’s greatness. I find it to be the perfect mix of straightforward narrative and Lynchian oddness.
I enjoy all of Lynch’s work, but when it comes to his straightforward films (The Elephant Man, The Straight Story) I always wish they were a little weirder, and I wish his unhinged stuff (Inland Empire, Mulholland Drive, a lot of The Return) made just a little more sense. A few of his movies strike this middle ground, like Wild at Heart, Dune, and Fire Walk with Me, but Blue Velvet is easily my favorite.
First off, the theme is simple but timeless: under the veneer of a picturesque small town in America, complete with picket fences and smiling firemen, lies a dark, evil underworld. This isn’t a unique idea, as America’s image and history has been a juxtaposition in art since the country’s inception. But it perfectly encapsulates Lynch as a person. He’s always described as this nice, normal Midwestern guy, yet he’s fascinated with the dark dreams of the subconscious. With Blue Velvet (and with a lot of Twin Peaks), Lynch gets to have his all-American clichés but also his American monsters.
Beyond that, Blue Velvet sticks with me because of the characters. You have the contrast between Dorothy and Sandy and Jeffrey and Frank. These seemingly polar opposites can somehow exist in the same small town, showing that maybe they’re not all that different.
The fun of it is watching these characters portray these extremes, especially in Jeffrey and Frank. Jeffrey’s over-the-top “good boy” shit cracks me up throughout the film. He tries to be helpful to the local police, he muses on “the king of beers,” and he’s just a general dork. And Frank is pure rage. Yes, he’s horrifying, but there are moments that will always make me laugh, like his love of Pabst Blue Ribbon, his sucker punch to Jeffrey at Ben’s place, and some of his lines to his lackeys (“No, I want you to fuck it!”).
The “joy ride” Frank takes Jeffrey and Dorothy on is one of my favorite sequences of all time. The car ride itself might be one of the most terrifying rides ever, and the trip to Ben’s place is amazing. I’d be happy with Dean Stockwell’s lip-synching alone as Frank seems to struggle to keep his head from exploding, but all the other weird shit is great. Just who are all these people in the apartment? Ben’s general look is fantastic. And Stockwell adds so much with his odd little quirks, like alternating between looking asleep and being wide-eyed seemingly for no reason. It’s easily the most surreal moment in the film, but there’s still enough plot going on (the drug talk, the kidnapped child being hidden away, etc.) that it doesn’t feel like it’s just thrown in there to add some weirdness to the film.
Unhinged Lynch can be great, but this restrained version which felt the need to keep things narratively together is my favorite because it makes it easier to revisit the film, which is why Blue Velvet is easily the most rewatchable film, for me. I have to be in the right mood to put on Lost Highway or Eraserhead, but I could watch Blue Velvet no matter how I felt.
The story is easy enough to follow, but it’s the overall look and feel of the film, and the many moments that I love that keep me coming back. The score and soundtrack perfectly capture the theme of the film, and the classic Lynch look, especially at Dorothy’s apartment, create a feeling of unease without being showy. It’s a beautiful dark world that I would never mind entering through a severed ear.
All my claims of a simple narrative can be argued, of course, as there are plenty of fascinating theories about the film and its undertones. I like digging into that stuff, and I’ve watched plenty of YouTube videos about the film and disappeared down dozens of reddit rabbit holes, but that isn’t required to enjoy this film, but that kind of research is necessary (at least for my dumbass) for something like Mulholland Drive, even if I think I kind of know what’s going on. My favorite films have always been ones that can be delved into but also enjoyed on a surface level.
Lynch’s work is largely focused on dreams, and that can be applied to Blue Velvet with its descent into the ear, the use of “In Dreams” by Roy Orbison, Sandy’s blatant talk about dreams and what robins represent, and the overly happy, to the point of being suspicious, ending. It’s always interesting to consider what’s real and what isn’t in a Lynch film, but when he keeps things on the edge where anything could be dream or reality, it makes things much more enjoyable. Sandy’s dad’s odd reaction to Jeffrey’s grisly discovery of “Yes, that’s a human ear, all right” seems like it could be from a dream because it’s so matter-of-fact for something so shocking. But maybe he’s just a very structured cop to the point of seeming robotic. Either way, that is a human ear, all right, and Blue Velvet is a perfectly odd and normal movie at the same time.
Random Thoughts
You know how it is: you stop to throw a few rocks at an old shed and, while looking for a good one, you find an ear instead. Happens all the fucking time.
God, I love the music in this, both score and soundtrack. It’s all perfect.
“Yes, that’s a human ear, all right.”
The dude just standing there with his dog always creeped me out. That’s the kind of shit I love about Lynch. “Instead of Kale just walking alone, let’s have a weird fat guy wearing sunglasses standing there with a dog!”
Jeffrey is such a stereotypical “good guy” it’s hilarious.
Laura Dern emerging from total darkness is one of my favorite cinematic entrances for a character.
Not to get into theories since many others have already covered everything better than I ever could, but the whole Lincoln assassination stuff is pretty interesting. Lincoln Street is bad news. Frank Booth. Well, that’s kind of it. But it’s still interesting.
Dorothy’s apartment building always reminds me of the apartments from Silent Hill.
“Ah. The king of beers.” Jeffrey seems upset that Sandy’s dad doesn’t drink Heineken, but this line is like an assurance that it’s only because it’s Bud. How could Heineken stand a chance against the king of beers?
“I don’t know if you’re a detective or a pervert.” Definitely a pervert. A Heineken-swilling perv.
Frank doesn’t show up until forty-three minutes, but he’s shot out of a fucking cannon.
The first time I became aware of this movie was seeing it in the video store when I was probably twelve or so. I remember seeing Hopper on the back hitting the nitrate, and thought, “This is probably too much for me right now.” And I was right. It was good that I waited a few more years for this.
What the fuck is hanging on Jeffrey’s wall? Every time I watch this, I end up Googling it and finding, of course, no answer aside from, “That’s Lynch for you!”
Sandy: “How’d it go?”
“Well…”
“And the robins represented love.” It’s truly wild, looking back over his entire filmography, that Lynch has a character say anything represents anything, even when discussing a dream. But that encapsulates what I love about this one. It’s the perfect blend of traditional narrative and Lynchian oddness.
“See that clock on the wall?”
“Yeah.”
“Five minutes from now, you’re not going to believe what I’ve told you.” Oh, fuck off, Jeffrey.
Sitting between Brad Dourif and Jack Nance (who keeps calling him a pussy), with a crazed Dennis Hopper driving has to be one of the most terrifying car rides of all time.
Ben lives above or next to a bar simply called “This Is It.” Great bar name.
Of course, Ben is a suave fucker. Who else wears a ruffled shirt and cummerbund just hanging out at the house?
“Do you want me to pour it?”
“No, I want you to fuck it!”
In Frank’s defense, that was a dumbfuck question for Dourif to ask.
That random punch to Jeffrey when he doesn’t automatically join in with the “Here’s to Ben” toast makes me laugh every time.
Dourif: “Hey, David, I feel like I should be doing something during the ‘In Dreams’ part.”
Lynch: “Okay, Brad, take this snake and dance around or something.”
I think this was the first non-Quantum Leap role I saw Dean Stockwell portray. Definitely exposed me to his range as an actor.
Imagine how stupid I felt after years of thinking “I’ll fuck anything that moves” was primarily a Jay quote from Clerks.
Say what you will about Frank, but the man is a music lover.
It’s so fucking funny when the floozy from Ben’s just instinctively climbs on top of the car to dance to “In Dreams.”
“He put his disease in me.”
“Dorothy, ix-nay on the isease-dey.”
“Sandy, I should really go with her to the hospital. Like she said, I did put my disease in her, so this is partly my fault.”
