I have never been a big fan of Jean Claude Van Damme. He definitely has the moves of a karate man, but he has never been much of an actor to say the least. I still vividly remember when I was watching “Cyborg” with my brother and a friend of his on the family VCR when I was back in junior high school. My dad even took the time to watch it, and he could not stop bagging on Van Damme throughout the whole monstrosity brought to us from the creative minds of Cannon Pictures. This is some of what he said:

“This is the single worst actor I have ever seen in my life! His face is completely immobile! He is like Stonehenge!”

Oh the memories! You’d figure after us seeing that movie that none of us would ever bother watching a movie with Van Damme ever again, but he was everywhere for a good portion of the late 80’s and early 90’s. “Bloodsport” was nothing extraordinary, but those fight scenes were pretty cool. “Death Warrant” was one I only saw because my best friend and movie buddy really wanted to check it out. It was alright, but that’s probably being a bit generous. I got a little pissed when that nerdy kid with glasses wanted to watch “Star Trek,” but the hot lady in that movie did not want to bother. She would rather be screwing Jean Claude who was taking a break from working undercover in a prison to catch a killer. Not all “Star Trek” fans are that geeky!

But after that unnecessary sequel to “Universal Soldier,” Jean Claude Van Damme ended up going from Hollywood movie star to the hell that is straight to video movies. During that time, he also went through drug problems and several divorces from several wives. I always wondered how people like Jean Claude or Steven Segal deal with going from big Hollywood action movies to direct to video crap that has now defined their careers to this very day. I can imagine that they are not too happy with the legacy that they are leaving behind in their wake. How do people deal with being at this place in their lives? On one hand, they are probably to be making a living doing what they do, but at the same time, I keep thinking they must miss where they were before all this crap happened to them.

“JCVD” is a fictionalized answer to that, and is not your typical Jean Claude Van Damme ass kicking epic. Jean Claude plays himself, and we can see in his face of what years of drugs, court battles, and many B movies have done to him. As the movie opens, we see him arguing with the director of his latest action movie, but the director is more interested in throwing darts at a postcard with the Hollywood sign on it then in listening to a man whose only distinction is getting John Woo to come to America with “Hard Target” (my favorite Van Damme movie by the way).

We see him at court fighting for custody of his daughter (one of them anyway), and the attorney for his ex-wife presents his action movies as arguments against him. They pile up so high that Van Damme ends up excusing himself to go to the bathroom while they are still being read off. Money problems keep mounting for him as he can’t get money out of the ATM, and his lawyer calls saying he still owes him money. Jean’s custody suit hits an impasse when his daughter says she doesn’t want to live with him because whenever a movie of his is on TV, she gets picked on by all the kids at school. Even worse, he just a film role to Steven Segal just because he offered to cut off his ponytail for the first time ever.

Suffice, being a fading action movie star is not easy, and doesn’t look like a lot of fun. Unlike Schwarzenegger, Van Damme has no political office to run for.

So we see Jean Claude head back to Belgium to reconnect with his roots and where he came from (hence his nickname “Muscles from Brussels”). In town, he has still treated as a big star and a hero, and a man who helped put them on the Hollywood map. But soon after, a hostage situation erupts at a nearby post office and (yes, I have to say it), all hell breaks loose. At first, it looks like he is the one robbing the post office, but events are seen from different perspectives, and it turns out that he has got into the wrong place at the wrong time. This time, he can’t rely on his martial arts moves to get him out of this. Jean Claude is not seen as an action hero here, but as a regular man who is caught up in a situation he has no control over.

“JCVD” is presented as a comedy/drama hybrid, and while the tone is a bit uneven, there are some very funny moments. We see one of the robbers buddy up with Jean Claude and talk to him about his movies, and even gets him to show one of his classic moves. While the other robbers couldn’t care less about him, this one wants his autograph. In the meantime, the townspeople (who clearly don’t know exactly what is going on inside) have come out in force to support Van Damme for what he is doing. In many ways, the movie is a look at the crazy nature of fame and how the center of attention is forever trapped in a prison because of it. It has some very funny moments as well as some sad ones where the fame is stripped back, and we see what is behind what is sold to us. It is in the vein of “Being John Malkovich” except not quite as imaginatively filmed (that’s a hard one to top anyway).

The big question I had when I went out to see this movie was has Jean Claude Van Damme actually gotten any better as an actor? I avoided his movies for so long, and I kept rolling my eyes at all the trailers for his movies. In the end, you see movies like “Bloodsport” for the action and nothing else. Even Los Angeles Times film critic Sam Adams in his review of this movie said that “most of the acting in Van Damme’s films takes place below the neck.”

But the answer here is yes, he has gotten better. In fact, in “JCVD” he is really good playing a fictionalized version of himself. My dad’s description of him as “Stonehenge” does not apply to him here, and while he will never be Laurence Olivier or Sean Penn, this movie bodes well for what we can expect from him in the future. I don’t know if this movie will his career a huge resurgence (this is his first theatrically released film in almost 10 years), but it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

In fact, the movie has one tremendous moment of pure raw emotion from the Belgium action star when he suddenly rises above the film set of the movie he is in to talk to directly to the audience. His monologue lasts for several minutes, and he talks about he always wanted to be a movie star. After all this time, he feels as though as he is being punished for it. Granted, he admits mistakes that he has made like taking drugs, and you feel that he is still paying a price for that even while he is staying clean. Jean Claude never fakes a moment in this monologue, and it is the best scene of the entire movie. Seriously, it is worth the price of admission just to see this one moment in all its riveting emotion. Jean Claude has said that doing this movie is like therapy for him, and you can definitely see that on display here.

The concept of “JCVD” is by no means original. We have seen many stars play themselves in movies and have jokes played at their own expense to show that they have a healthy sense of humor about themselves. Some are more broadly comic than others, and some a little more serious. But while we have seen a lot of actors take this route like John Malkovich in “Being John Malkovich,” I can’t think of any other action movie stars who have put themselves on the line like this. I can’t see Chuck Norris doing this at all. I am sure he would rather be in another action movie where Mike Huckabee is the President of the United States, and he has to rescue him from being held hostage by pro-evolution terrorists. Heck, Steven Segal would probably rather make a movie where he fights to get his name cleared by the FBI after being caught up with that mafia guy, whatever his name was. But not Jean Claude, he doesn’t go that route.

If there was one big problem I had with “JCVD,” it’s that the movie’s subtitles were at times almost impossible to read. The movie, directed by Mabrouk El Mechri, is shot in a grungy style that is very close to black and white but not quite. As a result, the subtitles which are presented in white lettering almost blend completely into the background. I had to keep leaning forward in my seat to see just what exactly was being said. In the end, I don’t think I ever missed what was being said, but considering how ridiculously subtitle phobic people get at movies, this will certainly not help.

You really have to give Jean Claude Van Damme a lot of credit here. Not many action stars would even risk being seen like he is in “JCVD.” Here, he lays himself out bare to show us the man he has become through many mistakes and bad movies. You come out of it with a renewed respect for him, and it makes you want to see him get better. “JCVD” is not a great movie, but it is fun to watch and it kept me enthralled throughout its running time. It was a good time at the movies and I am glad that I got myself to check it out during its limited engagement in Los Angeles. Right now, Jean Claude Van Damme has nowhere to go but up.

*** out of ****