Love is the Drug

One of the best scenes from Sucker Punch (2011) was not even in the original version, shockingly. EF is hoping Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. regret the omission strongly enough to follow through with a Director’s Cut. That hope is not entirely baseless. More on that in a minute. First, the scene!

Oscar Issac and Carla Gugino ignite in this sultry cabaret performance of Roxy Music’s “Love is the Drug” (1975). Both actors were relatively obscure at the time. I don’t need to tell you all the movies Issac has since starred in. And if you haven’t seen Gugino in Netflix’s new Fall of The House of Usher (2023), she is a show stopper. (Where was the Emmy nom?)

https://youtu.be/sOCxlsaUlO0?si=yResFoVRmiRW1Alt

As I mentioned there is reason to hope for a Director’s cut of this modern cult classic. While promoting his new film, Rebel Moon (2023), this past December Snyder confided to Inverse, he’s trying. “I’m working with Warner Bros. to try and find a window to go back in,” The Watchmen director said. “Even though we did an extended version, it’s not the fully realized movie” (Inverse, 2023). The film was subjected to massive revisions in order to make it PG-13 and commercially viable, which helps explain its messiness.

Beloved readers let me tell you, if a 4k Director’s Cut of Sucker Punch were to be announced this year, it would be all the ammo necessary for EF to pull the trigger on the next feature mashup. Like, can you imagine? The possibilities!

E.F.

22 thoughts on “Love is the Drug”

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    1. I hear ya; I also experienced disappointment. It is a confusing and messy film. It has issues; there’s no denying. But I have ambition to find and extract the gold. Somehow🤔 Also thanks for previously sharing that kick-ass trailer!.

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  4. Sucker Punch looked awesome from the trailers, and visually it was amazing with some great individual scenes, but overall I was a bit disappointed with it. I would definitely watch a director’s cut since for some reason studios seem to love to meddle with what Zach Snyder does. Anyway, the soundtrack was amazing and of course I bought it. I like this version of “Love Is the Drug” but my wife, who is no fan of covers in general, was pretty scandalized by the idea of somebody messing with a Roxy Music song, so she definitely doesn’t approve. 😁

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      2. Didn’t see Sucker Punch in theaters.

        And my first reaction was ‘nice video game trying to be a movie ‘.

        But, when it came on again, I remembered its stunning visuals and the dream dance sequences had enough trope mashup intrigue (WW1 Steampunk anyone?)

        That I gave it a 2nd viewing.

        That’s when I caught a gem of an Easter Egg hidden in plain sight.

        As Babydoll is being shipped off to a mental institute, Emily Browning is actually singing ‘Sweet Dreams ‘.

        That is an 80’s hit by the Eurythmics.

        On screen we witness the wrought iron archway announcing The Lennox House.

        Annie Lennox being the singer of The Eurythmics.

        That’s when I thought, ‘ Maybe there’s more to Sucker Punch than I originally gave it credit’.

        Since then, possibly 10 viewings in, I am surprised at the layers that keep peeling away to reveal a very deep and underrated film.

        I have been meaning to do a double feature of Sucker Punch with Girl Interrupted.

        Girl Interrupted with Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie also takes place during the 60’s in a women’s mental hospital.

        Unlike Sucker Punch, GI got immediate praise and nominations (trying to remember if it actually won an Oscar).

        Sucker Punch’s special effects are truly dazzling. But ultimately, they detract from the deeper story.

        Zack Snyder has had many films with effects at this level and higher.

        I wonder if it was a mistake or a genius move to give Sucker Punch such a visual effect feast.

        I’m not sure the audience target demographic for flashy visuals necessarily is also the film buff generation that likes movies that invoke thought and commentary at the level and layers hidden beneath the surface.

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  6. Always loved that song. Now you’re going to have me looking through the old CDs tonight.

    Some day, I’ll have to go back and watch the whole film. Mostly remembered it for the music. I saw it as a late-in-a-long-flight feature, and missed the last half… Perhaps aggravating my confusion. And while I’m fine with the eye-candy, I tend to lose focus during long sequences of endlessly repetitive, PG-13 action. Makes me wonder what a re-edit by a Japanese director might produce? 😉

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