A George A. Romero Retrospective: ‘There’s Always Vanilla’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘Now hold on, dad! What about the poor bastard who gets hung up on butter pecan?’
‘He’s disappointed when he can’t get it. There’s always vanilla, Chris. Always vanilla.’
-Chris Bradley and Roger Bradley

There is no greater topic to tackle in storytelling, than life itself. Because we all share in important moments that are both foundational to our growth and our future and exploring them in fiction, be it through books or any visual medium, helps us to better understand this crazy ride and what it means. Which is why we see motion pictures and shows and books that explore the power of death and how the trauma it creates, can impact our lives and our future. Or we see tales that focus upon the power of love and how it lifts us up and how it can indeed complete us when it is exactly what we are missing, and we’ve even seen tales that explore some of the darker stuff people go through, such as addiction or abuse. 
 
But what’s fascinating about these explorations, is that they all feature one common thread. In that, they all revolve around something specific that we can learn and grow from. Meaning that these stories focus heavily on direction and purpose and everything in between. Which isn’t a bad thing by any means, simply because that’s the kind of stuff that audiences outright find inspirational, and these types of stories really do give people guidance that are lost. But the fact of the matter is, there is a lot more to explore about life, and only the bravest of filmmakers and writers will ever take the time to tackle the parts that others are unwilling to. Because unfortunately, sometimes life is simply mundane, and despite our best efforts to find purpose and direction, sometimes it simply isn’t there and it just so happens that George A. Romero took the time to explore this darker side of life in his next motion picture.
 
For There’s Always Vanilla focuses heavily on the mundane and the listless existence that people sometimes experience. Something that is explored by way of our main characters, Chris Bradley and Lynn Harris. Because these particular folks simply don’t know what the hell they want out of life, they just know that they want more. Which does in turn make them supremely realistic in their own right because we’ve shared in some of their experiences. For we’ve all wondered if there is more to doing the laundry and bouncing from job to job, especially in our youth and well, by taking us on this mundane ride through the grind of daily life, one really does expect this story to begin to guide Chris and Lynn, toward something better, since they are indeed determined to put together successful careers that will fulfill them. 
 
But that’s the trick of this film, since we never see these characters grow, for supremely unique reasons. Because in essence, Chris is a man who simply doesn’t believe in anything the world has to offer. Sure, he wants to be part of it and contribute to it but doing so seems dirty to him. For he’s noticed that everything about modern life involves some form of servitude to either a boss or another human being and that bothers him to no end. To the point where he drifts from job to job and notion to notion in the hopes of finding something that will allow him to have his freedom and sustain him in the process and it is quite frustrating to watch him sabotage himself at every single turn and treat everyone around him in a pompous and superior manner. Because it is simply unnecessary and if he just took a moment to treat something or someone with respect, he would see his respective dreams come true and well, that makes he and Lynn supremely sour characters to say the least. 

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​Because Lynn is just as bad as Chris. For she’s the pretty girl that can easily have whatever she wants in life, something evidenced by the fact that she is able to model and star in local commercials whenever she pleases and of course, she can have any man she wants because she’s gorgeous and knows it. But she is simply empty inside, for none of this fulfills her either. But rather than drift in the same manner as Chris, she quickly attaches herself to men that are emotionally unavailable, specifically Chris in this tale, in the hopes of fixing them up and making them the model man that she wants them to be, and that leads to disaster of course since neither of them are good for another one, and use each other on a regular basis to fill their respective voids. 
 
Which should make this film as off-putting as possible. Because who in their right mind would want to sit through a movie that’s focused upon two seemingly irredeemable characters that use one another and only care about themselves? But as it turns out, you simply cannot turn away when it comes to Chris and Lynn simply because they feel so familiar and relatable. Because from time to time, we’ve been both of them. Where we didn’t believe in the world or used others to fill a void, and we know those folks who drift from job to job and constantly have excuses why they couldn’t do it, or they bounce from relationship to relationship because they firmly believe that the right partner is only way that they will find peace and fulfillment in life.
 
Something that quite frankly, makes this a supremely nihilistic and dystopian film at times. Because there’s just no hope to be found for Chris and Lynn, especially when one considers that they settle in the end. But that also lends credence to the film’s brilliance as well. Because that is life, and there are a lot of people that drift and settle and hope for something better but never find it, or never put in the work to be more or do more simply because they don’t know if they can handle bigger things. But what’s truly impressive about this motion picture, is that it doesn’t look down upon Chris or Lynn for being ‘average’ and ‘lost’, it simply uses them to point out that the world is filled with people like that, who simply want to forge a good life full of good memories and that there’s nothing wrong with that. In essence, the movie makes it clear that it is up to viewer to decide what path they need to take in life, and that they need to stick with their decision, and that’s quite the bold message to send the audience’s way since it offers such indifference in an environment where we expect answers.
 
But while we’ve discussed a great deal about the film’s construction and themes, we’ve yet to answer the million-dollar question; is it any good? And the answer to that question, is yes. Because the subtlety and intelligence that you only find in Romero’s direction is present here, despite the fact that he didn’t pen the script. But this movie works, and like the rest of Romero’s body of work, it requires multiple viewings to properly capture everything it has to say. If anything, the only real odd thing about this movie, is that George took the time to direct a melodrama. Because going from the beginning of the end of the world to a big-time drama is quite the unexpected deviation. But it just goes to show that Romero was capable of telling just about any story out there and while this one may not be in the same echelon as some of his other work, it is a fine palate cleanser, one that prepares the mind for the incredibly dark and powerful films that he had planned for the future.

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