Why So Many Movies Get Fade Into You Wrong

I humbly submit that there is no sadder song than “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star. Many people would disagree with this proclamation. My girlfriend would disagree with this proclamation. She has disagreed with this proclamation. This past March by girlfriend became consumed by a blogging alternative to March Madness basketball called March Sadness, a 64 song tournament created in order to determine the saddest song of The College Rock Years (1980-2001). And when she found out that I voted for “Fade Into You” over Joy Division’s “Atmosphere” in a 2nd round tilt, well, her disgust with me was palpable. Even so, I stand by my choice. Hope Sandoval’s voice is infused, as it always is, with that beautifully byzantine dreamy detachment and the guitar, as has been noted many times over, quotes Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”, which immediately gives away the game. You can’t homage “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” and sing praises to the wonder of love.

I thought about this when “Fade Into You” popped up in Andrea Arnold’s soundtrack heavy “American Honey.” Sure enough, it was used to compliment a love scene between the characters of Sasha Lane and Shia LaBeouf. And even if their romance is not exactly your typical rom com du jour, there were other melancholic points in the movie where Mazzy Star would have made a better sonic ally than the one Arnold chose. That’s usually the way of it. Go down the list, from “The To Do List” to “End of the Watch” and it’s underscoring love. That’s why when Vulture a couple years ago labeled “Fade Into You” as the most overused song in movies, I was confused. I don’t think it’s overused; I think it’s misused.

You know who understood “Fade Into You?” Paul Verhoeven understood “Fade Into You.” His “Starship Troopers” (1997), the adaptation of Robert Heinlen’s novel, was a raging war satire, but it was also, at points, a soap opera played so straight it burned like comic acid. Main character Johnny Rico has eyes for Carmen Ibanez. But Carmen Ibanez seems to have eyes for Zander Barcalow while Dizzy Flores seems to have eyes for Johnny Rico. Everyone’s in love with the wrong person. So, when this whole gang all meets up aboard some colossal spaceship somewhere deep in the cosmos and Johnny spies Carmen and everyone is making eyes at the one they love who does not love them back, feathers are bound to get ruffled.

This scene, with Mazzy Star quietly encroaching on the soundtrack, is just wonderful, something like a 1950s hop sock crossed with a Hallmark Channel romance but all slathered up with Paul Verhoeven’s patented vehement mania. You can watch it below.



And as the fists fly and the song is raised a few decibels on the soundtrack, it is hard not to think of Verhoeven once saying “I like putting certain aspects of American society under the magnifying glass and showing them for what they are.” Indeed. Here he takes “Fade Into You” and puts it under the magnifying class so that all the movie soundtrack artists can see the song for the infinite sorrow it contains, so that they can look at these people and see nothing, so that they can look at these people and see the truth, so that they can see this song for the sandcastles washing away into the sand by darkening sky of Hope Sandoval’s voice it is.

“Fade Into You” is not a song for loving; “Fade Into You” is a song for fighting.

License to Boast: Starship Troopers

The venerable Interwebs domain Grantland has a semi-regular series called Bragging Rights wherein they “determine which member of a cast, a team, a band, or a presidential cabinet is killing it the most, years later.” Last week, their resident college football scribe, the wonderful Holly Anderson, examined who was killing it most in Paul Verhoeven’s cult classic “Starship Troopers” (1997). And she did a respectable job. She parsed out a Gold Medal to Neil Patrick Harris, a Silver Medal to Sugar Watkins – er, Seth Gilliam, a Bronze Medal to Dean Norris. You might think, them? But then, the goal of Bragging Rights is to determine who’s killing it most right now; not who was killing it most in that movie. And that’s no fun. So NPH hosted the Oscars? So what? How did he do stacked up against Patrick Muldoon saying “jarheads”? Not too good, I’m afraid, and that’s all we care about here at Cinema Romantico.

So, today Cinema Romantico answers Grantland’s “Starship Troopers” Bragging Rights with “Starship Troopers” License to Boast, a determination of which member of the cast was killing it the most, right then.

Gold Medal: Dina Meyer. “Starship Troopers” is the certified all-time favorite movie of my friend, former roommate and venerated road comic Daryl A. Moon. I once spent a 4th of July with Daryl consuming rum like Captain Jack Sparrow while he showed myself and other (un)willing guests “Starship Troopers” one frame at a time like Roger Ebert at the Conference on World Affairs. Thus, I went straight to the nation’s foremost “Starship Troopers” source in order to properly hail the victor. I asked Daryl why Dina Meyer's Dizzy Flores was awesome. He answered…

“Sometimes a movie character is a great athlete (for example, good enough to play Jumpball professionally for either Rio or Tokyo). Sometimes a character is humble (not jealous that another player makes captain of the team despite the first character’s professional-quality abilities). Sometimes a character is determined to be with the person they love no matter what the cost (abandoning said professional career to follow the object of their affection into the military). Sometimes a character is part of a massive military invasion and, despite the overwhelming victory of the other side, manages to make it back (surviving the invasion of Big K). Sometimes a character finally admits their true feelings to the person they love and doesn’t get upset when the other person doesn’t love them back (making due when he just smiles). Sometimes a character uses their could-have-gone-pro athletic skills to save everyone in their unit (throwing a grenade into the tanker bug’s mouth during the battle on Planet P). Sometimes a character must suffer a major assault in order to stir the sympathies of the audience (the conclusion of the attack on Planet P). Sometimes a character has one of the most preposterous death scenes in film history, yet still breaks your heart by trying to comfort the person they love (in the transport back to the Rodger Young). But only one time has a character made claim to all of these, and that is why Dizzy Flores is awesome.”

Silver Medal: Michael Ironside. Mr. Ironside will always be Jester to me, so it says something that even in a cast of such soaring low-rollers, he ascends to such noteworthy heights. There’s, like, seven actors who could properly annunciate the line “They sucked his brains out.” He’s one.

Bronze Medal: Brenda Strong. Paul Verhoeven might not be a feminist but he's damn sure fair-minded, in his own way. And I think we know this because of Strong's Capt. Deladia. She's just sort of...there. It's not a big deal that she's a Captain; it just is. And in Strong's subtle but strengthened manner you can tell she's grooming Denise Richards' Carmen Ibanez to be her successor. Plus, she's the only “Starship Troopers” character to also appear in the much lamented sequel “Starship Troopers 2: Hero Federation.” Well, not really. Really Capt. Deladia died and Strong is playing a different character called Sgt. Dede Rake. But I don't believe that for a minute. Sgt. Dede Rake is Capt. Deladia reincarnated through some sort of mystical Jainism-like Ed Neumeier-ism. And we all know it.

Val Barker Trophy: Christopher Curry. This is a trophy presented to the one Olympic boxer who during the course of the two week competition most exemplifies “style.” And so, we present the “Starship Troopers” version of the Val Barker Trophy to the one actor who most exemplifies style. And that actor, undoubtedly, is Christopher Curry as Johnny Rico’s dad, the guy who says this: “How ‘bout a trip to the Outer Rings? Zegema Beach…eh?” I know. It reads like nothing here. But that’s the thing, the line reading is straight style. It is an auditory explosion of panache.

Honorary Kylie Minogue in “Moulin Rouge” Award: Hope Sandoval. It warms my heart to think that way out there in the 23rd century moments of such sweet sorrow are still being scored to the dreamy serenade “Fade Into You” and the ravenously forlorn vocals of Ms. Sandoval. She's never seen, yet that irresistible voice still echoes through the centuries. Even if there's giant bugs trying to squash us, so long as Mazzy Star lives on, we'll be all right.