The Image Formed

Military Intelligence and You

D: Dale Kutzera; with Elizabeth Ann Bennett, Eric Jungmann, Mackenzie Astin, Patrick Muldoon

This elegant satire presented as a World War II military-training film would be amusing enough had it settled for the obvious, cornball laughs. Thankfully, writer/director Kutzera's delicious wit avoids the easy gags. By cleverly weaving selected scenes from B-grade 1950s reels' stock footage from actual training films together with a stylishly rendered story (i.e., a training film focusing on the work of military analyst Nick Reed), Kutzera delivers a parody more in line with Dr. Strangelove than Austin Powers. One might fault Kutzera for dropping a love story into the mix, but he has such a firm grip on his interweaved forms and his cast's performances are so adept, what the hell? It all works. Like most classic satire, Military Intelligence and You appears to be about one subject while brazenly lampooning another. Striking in plain sight, this glorious spoof strikes its target with bloodless, yet deadly precision. – Belinda Acosta

10/21, 4:45pm, Texas Spirit; 10/25, 9:30pm, Dobie