jonathan-577

(2012-04-29 12:22:22)

messy fun

For a good chunk of its running time, this movie gives proof toSchmidt's low-low-budget advocacy work (he is the author of "FeatureFilm-making at Used Car Prices" after all, which was a huge boost to myown aspirations). Grainy and grimy and gimmicky and goofy, cut with anincoherence that adds momentum until it finally starts to detract, it'sbuilt around such simple elements as a couple funny pals or a weirdface mask or a Flipper song or an interview about Santa Claus or RonaldReagan on TV. But it does have a structure, one that could even bedescribed as narrative if you look at it from the right angle. Thesheer goofiness of the whole enterprise plays off the pretentiousundertow, kind of a Kenneth Anger meets X thing. It can't keep itsplates spinning right to the end, I think the defection of the leadactress halfway through the shoot was a major problem even though theway Schmidt papers this over is pretty endearing. But it's fun and itcaptures its time and place in a way that I haven't seen before.