Quick recap: A man becomes many different characters and looks at himself in the mirror a lot.

There are many layers of crazy in a movie that is only 30 minutes long

Fun (?) fact: Jack Smith, who acted in Blonde Cobra, influenced Andy Warhol’s films as well as John Waters.

My thoughts: I have no idea what I watched. No clue whatsoever. And after reading up a bit on the film’s meaning, I don’t think Jack Smith or director Ken Jacobs were really going for anything other than doing something experimental. And if that was truly their goal, great job, you guys! You surpassed it by a mile.

But seriously, what the hell did I just watch? Most of Blonde Cobra is Smith making weird noises, singing off-key, and telling weird, shocking stories that don’t really have a point. There are also various audio recordings played throughout, which further add to the madness.  There were a few parts that stuck with me, like the quote, ‘why shave when I can’t think of a reason for living?’ so it’s not completely devoid of meaning. At times, it seemed like Smith was descending into madness, or maybe at home he felt less inhibited (he was a self-identified ‘queer muse’) so this was his way of being himself. And you know what? I dig it. This short film is as weird as it gets, but I kind of liked sitting back for a half hour without the pressure of trying to figure out a deeper meaning. It’s Art, man. I’m not sure if this was the takeaway, but watching Blonde Cobra made me realize that not everything has to make sense all of the time.

FInal review: 2/5. Go check it out on Youtube, although it is very explicit and messed up.

Up next: Memento