ME, MYSELF, AND MY THIRD EYE (USA/2010/ADAM COOLEY)

Made on a budget of $0, Adam Cooley’s Me, Myself And My Third Eye is an unusual exploration of the self, which nominally deals with the exploration for God. Cooley himself portrays four diverse characters, all of whom have their own need for religious experience. An unremarkable hand-puppet of a cat (basically a drawn-on paper bag) purposelessly explores various parts of the house, a masked maniac finds himself jealously coveting an electrical socket, the masked wife of an unnamed president ruminates over possible visits to the sperm bank, and an abrasive rapist father recounts uncaringly how his daughter works as a phone sex operator to fund his heroin addiction. The film flips indiscriminately between the stories.

Naturally, a non-existent budget provides stringent limitations, but it seems that Cooley wasn’t competent to begin with, as the sound and image editing attest. One also wonders whether he set out to spend most of the film in his bedroom, or if it was just easier that way. Fluxus it ain’t, but perhaps it is unfair to judge this sort of films so flippantly. After all, this is essentially the digital age’s equivalent to underground cinema, Cooley handling all roles (including promotion) himself. Visiting his website is somewhat encouraging, although he has more to say about his impressively lo-fi methods of filmmaking than what he wants to achieve. As such, Me, Myself, And My Third Eye is tedious and aimless, but the fact that it was made is refreshing enough to warrant further viewing.