 In the surprisingly non-shitty Wristcutters: A Love Story, which opens Friday, there's a weird in-joke that, if nothing else, is the most innovative use of a hipster soundtrack I've heard in years. For the road trip portion of the film — an after-life short story of sorts — Patrick Fugit's Zia is accompanied by one Eugene, played by Shea Wigham. Eugene is said to be a Russian punk-rocker; then he cranks up "his band," which turns out to be the much-beloved NYC institution Gogol Bordello. If you've never heard them before, you'll want to pick up a copy of their album Multi Contra Kulti vs. Irony after hearing its key songs played over and over in this film. They're awesome.
The weird, meta part: director Goran Dukic is friends with Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz. When I first saw the Eugene character, I was positive Hutz was playing himself: the leering sexuality and trademark mustache are fully in place. But no: Wigham is a nice American boy from Tallahassee. So what we have is an American actor playing a Russian character based on a Ukrainian rocker of the same first name who listens to the music created by the fictional character but actually created by the real inspiration, who's only on-screen in doppelganger form. Very confusing. — Vadim Rizov
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