Recep İvedik locks up the box-offices again
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Emrah Güler
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 21, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Hot on the tail of the highest grossing film last year, the sequel to ’Recep İvedik’ hits the screens. The vulgar and ignorant anti-hero once again tries to bully his way into city life and upper-middle class sensibilities.
The untamed, vulgar anti-hero of Turkish cinema is once again taking his popular place on the silver screens, heading for yet another box office success. Taking its name from its protagonist, "Recep İvedik 2" storms cinemas less than a year after the success of the first movie, breaking an international caliber record in the process.
Last year’s "Recep İvedik" was a pop culture phenomenon, becoming the highest grossing movie of 2008, as well as the most hated movie by film critics and intellectuals. Before becoming one of the most popular characters in Turkish cinema, Recep İvedik had enjoyed some moderate fame as the anti-hero in the comedian Şahan Gökbakar’s sketch shows, generating a modest fan group on YouTube.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to have noticed that ensuring a few cheap laughs in a Turkish movie is enough to attract the Turkish audience to movie theaters. Plot, acting and subtlety are rendered unnecessary to generate impressive box office success. If not a respected filmmaker, Gökbakar proved to be a shrewd businessman.
Taking cues from the first movie
Similar to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat, Recep İvedik was initially a minor character in Gökbakar’s comedy shows. İvedik was the typical Turkish "maganda," the boor that is the nightmare of everyone trying to lead a civilized life in the cities. The maganda is the symbol of everything that is sexist, ignorant, loud, vulgar, and unrefined. Loveable to a certain extent, Recep İvedik carried the definition of maganda to the extreme with his brand of tasteless jokes and boorish demeanor.
The first movie aimed to be a road movie and perhaps a romantic comedy to a certain extent, but turned out to be a collection of sketches without a proper story anywhere to be seen. This was the major critique. The inconsistency in the quality of the jokes ("suitable for preschool boys" was one of the major arguments), and glorifying sexism, homophobia and any type of vulgarity were others.
Both of the movies are directed by Şahan Gökbakar’s brother Togan, whose directorial debut came at the age of 22, three years ago, with the horror flick "Gen." The promising thing about "Recep İvedik 2" is that it gives the impression that Togan Gökbakar has read the film reviews in detail, and taken cues for the sequel. The film, first of all, seems to have a coherent plot, and situation comedy of sharp observations seems to have replaced at least some of the cheap jokes.
Nightmare for ’white Turks’
"Recep İvedik" begins with a long sequence, reminding the audience of the everyday atrocities of its protagonist. As he walks from his home to another building, he harasses as many people as possible on his way to his grandmother’s apartment. Recep seems to have inherited his physical qualities, including the prominent unibrow and facial hair, as well as his penchant for vulgarity from the movie’s hyped new character, his grandmother.
Recep’s grandmother wants three things from her grandson: find a job, find a girlfriend to marry, and become a respected person. Hence begins Recep İvedik’s quest to find the right job in a market and economy that does not welcom someone like Recep. We see him struggle in a string of jobs, trying his best as a cashier in a supermarket, an apprentice in a pharmacy, and a pizza delivery boy. Coming to terms with the fact that he’s not the best provider of services, Recep bullies his way into his cousin’s advertising company.
Perhaps the best parts of the movie take place in the office, where Recep tries to find his place in an environment totally alien to him. Through his eyes, we see the pretentious nature and the absurdities of office life. His ill-advised attempts and blundering at cyber-flirting and meeting with women at such popular hangouts like Starbucks and Sushico become testament to Turkey’s obsessed relationship with the West, not cheap shots at capitalism.
"Recep İvedik 2," like its predecessor, is a one-man show, making sure that all the other characters (except the grandmother) are as grounded as possible. That’s why it’s so easy for the so-called "white Turks" to empathize with every other character while loathing Recep İvedik. Considering the tragic situation of class differences in big cities, and the unhealthy ratio of white Turks to everyone else, it is no surprise why the majority finds it easy to empathize with this awkward anti-hero.
Last year’s "Recep İvedik" was a pop culture phenomenon, becoming the highest grossing movie of 2008, as well as the most hated movie by film critics and intellectuals. Before becoming one of the most popular characters in Turkish cinema, Recep İvedik had enjoyed some moderate fame as the anti-hero in the comedian Şahan Gökbakar’s sketch shows, generating a modest fan group on YouTube.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to have noticed that ensuring a few cheap laughs in a Turkish movie is enough to attract the Turkish audience to movie theaters. Plot, acting and subtlety are rendered unnecessary to generate impressive box office success. If not a respected filmmaker, Gökbakar proved to be a shrewd businessman.
Taking cues from the first movie
Similar to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat, Recep İvedik was initially a minor character in Gökbakar’s comedy shows. İvedik was the typical Turkish "maganda," the boor that is the nightmare of everyone trying to lead a civilized life in the cities. The maganda is the symbol of everything that is sexist, ignorant, loud, vulgar, and unrefined. Loveable to a certain extent, Recep İvedik carried the definition of maganda to the extreme with his brand of tasteless jokes and boorish demeanor.
The first movie aimed to be a road movie and perhaps a romantic comedy to a certain extent, but turned out to be a collection of sketches without a proper story anywhere to be seen. This was the major critique. The inconsistency in the quality of the jokes ("suitable for preschool boys" was one of the major arguments), and glorifying sexism, homophobia and any type of vulgarity were others.
Both of the movies are directed by Şahan Gökbakar’s brother Togan, whose directorial debut came at the age of 22, three years ago, with the horror flick "Gen." The promising thing about "Recep İvedik 2" is that it gives the impression that Togan Gökbakar has read the film reviews in detail, and taken cues for the sequel. The film, first of all, seems to have a coherent plot, and situation comedy of sharp observations seems to have replaced at least some of the cheap jokes.
Nightmare for ’white Turks’
"Recep İvedik" begins with a long sequence, reminding the audience of the everyday atrocities of its protagonist. As he walks from his home to another building, he harasses as many people as possible on his way to his grandmother’s apartment. Recep seems to have inherited his physical qualities, including the prominent unibrow and facial hair, as well as his penchant for vulgarity from the movie’s hyped new character, his grandmother.
Recep’s grandmother wants three things from her grandson: find a job, find a girlfriend to marry, and become a respected person. Hence begins Recep İvedik’s quest to find the right job in a market and economy that does not welcom someone like Recep. We see him struggle in a string of jobs, trying his best as a cashier in a supermarket, an apprentice in a pharmacy, and a pizza delivery boy. Coming to terms with the fact that he’s not the best provider of services, Recep bullies his way into his cousin’s advertising company.
Perhaps the best parts of the movie take place in the office, where Recep tries to find his place in an environment totally alien to him. Through his eyes, we see the pretentious nature and the absurdities of office life. His ill-advised attempts and blundering at cyber-flirting and meeting with women at such popular hangouts like Starbucks and Sushico become testament to Turkey’s obsessed relationship with the West, not cheap shots at capitalism.
"Recep İvedik 2," like its predecessor, is a one-man show, making sure that all the other characters (except the grandmother) are as grounded as possible. That’s why it’s so easy for the so-called "white Turks" to empathize with every other character while loathing Recep İvedik. Considering the tragic situation of class differences in big cities, and the unhealthy ratio of white Turks to everyone else, it is no surprise why the majority finds it easy to empathize with this awkward anti-hero.