By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Currently, I am on vacation in Austell, Georgia visiting my family. It’s always great to see my amazing brother-n-law Joey and wonderful father and mother-n-law. My husband and I always have a blast, and I’m happy to say (though I don’t want to jinx myself on the way back) that the plane ride was smooth. I’m extremely afraid of airplane rides, but Xanax is a godsend when it comes to calming me down, and it certainly worked wonders this time.
The last six years with my husband have been the best of my life. Part of that is due to our shared interest in the same style and brand of humor. Online sensation Spoony aka Noah Antwiler is certainly among the comedic geniuses we enjoy watching together. Awhile back, we watched his review of an old TV movie entitled Mazes and Monsters starring Tom Hanks. The movie and book by the same name was loosely based on a “true account” of a troubled young man named James Dallas Egbert III. Egbert who was a brilliant student played Dungeons and Dragons. He also suffered from mental illness. One night, he left a suicide note and disappeared into the steam tunnels at his university. Many incorrectly assumed his depression and subsequent actions were due to D&D. Tragically after Egbert was found and survived the suicide attempt, he did eventually succeed in taking his own life. This was completely unrelated to the role playing game.
Though many angry and fearful parents jumped on a bandwagon condemning D&D, they didn’t take the time to learn about Egbert’s depression and drug addiction. More than that, many believe he was gay, and was unable to come to terms with it. One can’t blame him as the atmosphere of homophobia was much more prevalent in 1980 than it is now. I’m not saying it has disappeared. There is a reason why homosexuals are far more likely to kill themselves than those who are straight. Intolerance, hatred and the teachings of certain (not all) religious beliefs can weigh down on a mind that is still developing making them feel as though the only way out is death.
It is without question that Egbert had a very tough life and his ending was tragic, but blaming a role playing game is nothing but an easy way out and a means to relieve oneself of blame. It is nothing but a way in which to put the focus on something completely unrelated to the event itself. As D&D can easily be made sensationalistic and when portrayed in a certain way to those who have never played, the easily swayed will get revved up in anger. Without doubt, the vultures will emerge making money on the weak-minded. The saddest part of it all is that a real person died and rather than explore the real reasons and find ways to help avoid similar acts in the future, author Rona Jaffe opted to line her pockets.
That isn’t to say it’s a bad movie, per-say. There are parts that are quite amusing, the plot certainly holds ones interest, and the absurdity of the tale -especially with Hanks in the lead – makes it worth the watch. Steve and I had been looking for this film for awhile, but unfortunately I live in a location without any real DVD stores. We have Best Buy, but ever since Circuit City went out of business, Best Buy lost it’s groove and doesn’t stock anything but new releases. I could have bought it online and I do purchase a lot of films in that fashion, but there is something about finding a movie you’ve been looking for forever that just makes me excited. It’s nostalgia. Anyone older than twenty-five, will understand. It’s the type of rush you get when a song you like plays on the radio. Sure, it’s on my iPod, but there’s that unexpected bliss when a tune I adore echoes through the speakers. Nowadays, everything is at one’s fingertips, and part of me loves that…..but part of me misses the search. I remember years ago searching for a movie called Super Fuzz (1980) and I couldn’t find it anywhere. There was a huge VHS store nearby called Astro Video. The top floor was videos for rent, but the basement was a huge warehouse of movies – many of which were hard to find. I spent hundreds of dollars there and I bought Super Fuzz for over $50. Now ,I own it on DVD which is nice. I bought it off of Amazon….but back in the day – the search for it was definitely part of the fun.
Anyways, Joey, Steve and I went to Movie Stop which I really wish would move closer to where I live. We were buying a bunch of used horror movies when Joey found Mazes and Monsters. Both he and I bought a copy. After watching Spoony’s episode dedicated to the movie, we couldn’t help but buy it – and each copy was only $1.99! Now, that’s a bargain!
The premise of the movie is a simple one. A group of college students are looking for another player for their D&D style game Mazes and Monsters. Robbie (Tom Hanks) is hesitant to play, but after much persuasion he gives in. The game begins simple enough, but one player JayJay (Chris Makepeace) decides to up the ante and decide to become the first people to go LARPing (live action role playing game). In character, they descend into the caverns where unbeknownst to the rest of the group JayJay has decided to kill himself. He never attempts to and instead is just the dungeon master – or the mazes master.
Robbie gets too involved and suddenly hallucinates and sees the monsters. He believes he has slayed them. Afterwards, he isn’t the same. He cannot come back to reality and at one point is ready to kill himself. (Spoiler) Sadly, he never recovers.
There’s a lot of over-the-top idiocy in the film that makes it worth the watch. The worst part of the movie is that other than a throwaway line from Robbie’s mom telling the kids that she doesn’t blame them and that he had problems previously, Robbie’s actual mental health is not discussed. The audience is simply left to accept that the game may push someone so far over the edge that they lose all sense of reality. Obviously, that’s not the case. Schizophrenia and delusions are most certainly real, but they are not caused by D&D or in this case Mazes and Monsters.
The movie could have at least delved further into Robbie’s past to show how his mental stated deteriorated over time. Also, JayJay’s suicide storyline is simply dropped. At the end, he seems fine. I’m not sure if we are to think that seeing Robbie’s descent into madness cured JayJay of his own depression, but that too is something that should have been fleshed out. To be fair, it may have been in the book. I never read the book, but nonetheless, I’m sure the tone is the same in reference to role playing games.
Overall, I certainly suggest watching Spoony’s review. I think that sums up the movie quite nicely and as always the guy is hilarious. After that, if you have functioning brain cells check out the movie in its totality as it is a fun watch.
For the rest of society … you know who you are – the ones who think Reefer Madness (1936) was a fact-based program on the dangers of marijuana, or programs like Hell Bells: The Dangers of Rock n Roll (1989) should be taken seriously seriously, then just skip this film. Give your kids a break. Let them have some fun and do what they enjoy, whether it’s playing D&D, watching Silent Night Deadly Night (1984) or listening to Judas Priest or Marilyn Manson. Stop blaming games, movies and music for a child’s behavior. If I had a child, I would be far more concerned about recruiters for churches associated with programs like Jesus Camp (2006) than him/her dressing up like Harry Potter and pretending to cast spells.
Scared Stiff Rating: 5/10 for the movie – 9/10 for Spoony’s Review
