|
Comedy
is hard and the kind of comedy "Gretchen" attempts,
black comedy that is reminiscent of Todd Solondz
on Nitrous Oxide, is even harder. Sadly, although
the film is a lot of fun and often hilarious,
it is also overly long and a bit too much to
swallow. Filmmaker Steve Collins has attempted
to bite off a little more than most film audiences
are able to chew and digest successfully.
Collins does have a marvellous eye and a real
knack for making visual jokes. There are a tremendous
amount of hilarious moments in "Gretchen." Many
of these come not only from the dialogue, which
Collins also wrote, and how it is delivered,
but how Collins films them. An early scene where
the titular teenage Gretchen's mom catches her
half naked with her boyfriend is perhaps one
of the funniest things I've ever scene and it
is Collins patience and pacing in exposing the
scene to us that makes it extremely funny.
Courtney Davis, who plays Gretchen, is a friend
of mine and I really loved seeing her in this
film. She plays an awkward, gawky, plain and
nerdy teenage girl with just the right amounts
of withdraw and innocence. Yes, Courtney is
a bit too old to play this role but Collins
cleverly makes light of this by casting 20-somethings
in all the teenage roles here. And it works
like a charm. It makes all the film partially
a spoof without ever echoing the boring jokes
that have become the staple of spoofs in films
like the "Scary
Movie" franchise.
Another truly wonderful actor here is John Merriman,
who shared the screen with Davis in the humorous
indie comedy "My
Name is Buttons" a couple of years ago.
Merriman is so funny. Chubby yet cute, Merriman
is cast against type as Ricky, the popular teenage
rebel who rides a motorcycle and has several
girlfriends. This is really hilarious. The first
30 minutes of so of the film which focuses on
Gretchen and Ricky is undoubtedly the best part
of the film because Davis and Merriman have
perfect chemistry together.
But a feature film must be more than an hour
and the expansion of Gretchen's story gets a
bit lame and tedious after a while. A centerpiece
which features Stephen Root ("Office Space"
as well as TV's "Newsradio") is really drab.
Root plays the same character he has played
in a ton of indie films (a mealy-mouthed loser)
and only has a long-hair wig to wear to differentiate
this role from any other he has played. We learn
a little more about Gretchen in this part of
the film but overall it drags far too much and
the film loses its humor and pace.
There is a really funny scene at a poorly attended
rave that is quite funny and Gretchen's stint
at a "Emotional Growth Center" is funny in places
but the addition of the father character and
the end of the film, which echoes "Pretty in
Pink," is, sadly, fairly lackluster. Still,
"Gretchen" is amusing more often than not. And
Davis is as perfect as ever. She really makes
us fall in love with the character and care
about what happens to her, even if she is a
complete idiot.
Collins films the piece beautifully. The film
has a continual use of pastel colors that make
it visually unique and revolutionary. The costumes
and settings are equally perfect for the tone
of the film. Visually, "Gretchen" is right on
target. It's just that it seems like the film
might work much better as a short. It is an
expansion of the award winning "Gretchen and
the Night Terror" short which came out a couple
years ago and this expansion may not have been
such a good idea. I can never get too much Courtney
Davis, but after about 40 minutes, "Gretchen"
started to work my nerves.
Notes:
Also with Macon Blair, Cyndi Williams ("Room"),
Carlos Trevino and Yasmin Kittles.
Music by Graham Reynolds. Cinematography by
P.J. Raval.
The film was at one time going to be called
"Gretchen Finkle."
Report Card
Script:
C-
Acting:
A-
Cinematography\Lighting:
A+
Special
Effects\Make Up: A+
Music:
A-
Final
Grade: B-
|
