Without further adieu, here are the rest of the movies I enjoyed at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival:
Breaking Upwards
Real-life romantic duo Zoe Lister Jones and Daryl Wein co-write and co-star in this film about a young couple who decide to take "days off" from their love life. Their relationship invention involves choosing certain days of the week that will act as romantic black holes — giving the two mini-vacations from being a couple. As they enjoy their newfound freedom, the two begin to reevaluate what their love actually means and just how good of a couple they really were. Both Zoe and Daryl are excellent in their roles but the real breakout talent in the film is long-time character actress Julie White ("Transformers"). White excels as Daryl's obsessively controlling mother. The film was highly enjoyable and a glimpse into the promising future of two very talented young filmmakers.
MINE
Director Geralyn Pezanoski has done the seemingly impossible — create a film that offers a new and previously untapped vantage point of a national disaster that had previously been explored from every angle. By filming a documentary about the pet owners struggling to reclaim their lost animals after Hurricane Katrina, Pezanoski has offered a stirring metaphor for the displaced humans battling to pick up their lives after the destructive storm. The documentary follows the stories of several pet owners who, upon returning to New Orleans, discovered that the pets they had left behind and been rescued and sent to new lives across the country.
What I loved most about the film was the fact that both sides of a very touchy subject were treated with equal care and consideration. No one side was made out to be the clear moral guidepost and the audience was left in turmoil — unsure of where their sympathies should lie. This film, should it find distribution, should be on the "Must Watch" list of any film fan.
The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle
Marshall Allman stars as Dory, a young man who (being desperate for employment) takes a job as a custodian at a corporation that tests new products. After eating some cookies he finds in a trash can, he becomes addicted to the snack — innovative new treats that bake themselves as soon as you put them in your mouth. He gorges himself on the trash-plucked cookies, eating them as fast as he can find them. Unfortunately, Dory discovers that the cookies have a side-effect — they cause men to become pregnant with tiny blue fish. Writer/director David Russo combines comedy, romance, bromance and some very trippy animation to create a film that is at once both a high-concept comedy about people pooping out blue fish and an exploration into finding purpose in a bleak life. The cast (which includes Natasha Lyonne, Vince Vieluf and Tania Raymonde) sell the abstract subject matter perfectly — never once leaving audiences confused or apathetic. The film is totally recommended to anyone looking for a weird treat to sink their teeth into.
My Suicide
Gabriel Sunday, at the ripe old age of 23, has proven himself to be an emerging talent to watch with a single movie. Not only did Sunday star in "My Suicide," a provocative look at teenage suicide and media emersion, he co-wrote and edited the film.
As Archibald Holden Buster Williams, Sunday is a high school kid obsessed with making and watching movies. Through the use of internet cams, home movies and strategically placed security cameras, Williams goes through life in perpetual "show-mode" — offering the world a pop-culture reference soaked rant on life, liberty and the pursuit of personal space. When assigned a student video project, Williams decides to make his biggest statement yet — he's going to kill himself on camera. Much like "Network" explored a suicidal newscaster fed up with the state of modern journalism, "My Suicide" peers through the emo-clouded eyes of an angsty teen to comment on the proliferation of personal expression the internet has provided. The film is shot to appear like a series of video blogs, home movies and viral videos — and the experiment succeeds spectacularly.
500 Days of Summer
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel star in this off-beat romantic comedy about two people not necessarily in love with each other. Tom (Gordon-Levitt) is an idealistic young man convinced that Summer (Deschanel) is the perfect girl for him — unfortunately, for Summer, Tom is only the perfect guy for right now. The film explores the length of the couple's relationship (500 days, in case you were wondering) in non-linear format. This "Memento"-style filmmaking turns what could have been an unmemorable rom-com into a very fun, very enjoyable exploration into the birth, life and death of a relationship. Director Marc Webb combines musical numbers, animation and fantasy sequences to pay tribute to romantic movie staples while also managing to break new ground. This movie is not a wise choice to bring a date to but it is a highly recommended movie that should come to a theater near you later this year.
Best Worst Movie
Easily the best movie I saw at the festival, "Best Worst Movie" is a documentary exploring the making of and subsequent legacy of "Troll 2," a late '80s horror film considered to be the worst movie ever made. As a guy who saw "Troll 2" as a child and was impressed, it was a special treat to watch this movie. Directed by Michael Paul Stephenson, the young star of horror movie in question, the documentary primarily follows George Hardy, an Alabama dentist who played the father in the original film. In the years since "Troll 2" came out, Hardy and the rest of the film's stars went from running from the colossal embarrassment they thought they were connected with to embracing the cult status the film has gathered since it's original release. In "Best Worst Movie," Hardy travels across the country visiting fans of "Troll 2" at screenings and horror conventions — discovering the different sides associated with being the star of a cult film. Throughout the course of the documentary, I was constantly impressed with how genuinely nice a man Hardy seemed to be. From his relationship with his fans and his constant willingness to quote lines from "Troll 2" to his interactions with his co-stars and the tempestuous Italian director of "Troll 2" (a man who still considers his film to be an unrecognized masterpiece), Hardy impressed me. That's why it was such a special treat to be walking down an Austin street a few days after watching the film and, upon hearing a man complement the "Troll 2" t-shirt I was wearing, look up to see George Hardy, grinning ear to ear. What a nice guy!
Humpday
The other film I saw at SXSW staring Mark Duplass, "Humpday" is perhaps even better than "True Adolescents." Co-starring Joshua Leonard ("The Blair Witch Project"), "Humpday" is an entirely improvised movie about two best friends who decide (for the sake of artistic merit and personal growth) to have sex with each other in front of a camera. Unlike "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," though, both of these wannabe porn stars are dudes. Straight dudes. Both Duplass and Leonard create highly believable and always watchable characters who takes audiences along on the twisted logic ride that would allow two straight men to want to have sex with each other.
The film is at once both funny and touching and incredibly recommended.
Observe and Report
Seth Rogen could have once been accused of playing the same character in every movie he made — that is, until "Observe and Report," a deliciously dark and twisted movie about a bi-polar mall security guard that goes off of his meds and down a path towards self-destruction and isolation. This isn't "Superbad 2." It's "Taxi Driver" as a comedy. And it's not even that funny.
Just because it's not a yuk-fest, though, doesn't mean it isn't a good movie. It very much is. It's just a really, really "f'd" up movie that constantly dares the audience to like it. It's morally reprehensible, features characters that you couldn't possibly like and enough violence to make a biker blush. Jody Hill ("The Foot Fist Way") wrote and directed the film. Anna Faris, Michael Pena andd Ray Liotta co-star. The film takes "Where is My Mind?", a Pixies song previously thought to be forever linked to "Fight Club," and casts a whole new sensory memory to go along with it — and nothing will prepare you for that experience.
Well, my fingers are tired and my bed beckons. Come back tomorrow for the rest of the films I enjoyed at SXSW.
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