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At
first this low-budget independent film seems
like every other low-budget dysfunctional family,
piece of shit film that has every screened at
Sundance. It looks like shit, the script is
abysmal and the acting is Godawful. Sad thing
is, this film has big names in it: Tom Wilkinson
and Nick Stahl and Selma Blair and Francis Fisher
and Janine Turner. The only difference between
this piece of shit and the latest crop of dysfunctional
family pieces of shit films like "Chumbscrubber"
and "Thumbsucker"
is that in this piece of shit the kids are angst-ridden
20-somethings and not angst-ridden teenagers.
The film is set in Dallas and Wilkinson put
on a yee-haw accent that would make J.R. Ewing
slap him in his goddamn face. Wilkinson, who
has a history of fluctuating from awesome to
ridiculous in his craft, is definitely in the
latter stages here. He is ridiculous.
Eventually the film becomes mainly a piece between
Wilkinson and Stahl and the only good thing
about this is that Stahl, who has the uncanny
ability to look different in each movie he has
been in, looks cute as a black-haired alt-Rock
boytoy. The dialogue makes him say he is a "punk
rocker" and his on-screen cohorts have to deliver
the nauseating dialogue of a scripter (director
Amy Talkington) who doesn't seem to have the
slightest idea of what modern punk rock characters
would say. I swear to fucking God here, one
poor little wannabee actor is even forced to
utter the unbelievable line, "I'm a streetwalking
cheetah with a heart full of napalm." Anyone
who even knows the name Iggy Pop will cringe
when that happens on screen. This film's plot
and dialogue ring as false as an electronic
plastic Christmas bell.
This is a mess of a film and the most obvious
proof of this, other than the abysmal script,
bad acting, and shitty cinematography is the
use of Geri Jewell as a retarded character in
the film. Fans of TV's "Fact of Life" will remember
her as Geri, the young girl with cerebral palsy
who did stand-up comedy. I don't know if Jewell's
condition has deteriorated immensely in the
last 30 years or if she is acting, but the character
she plays here is so poorly handled and so utterly
sad that it makes you want to punch Amy Talkington
square in the jaw.
My only fear is that Iggy will beat me to it.
Notes:
Filmed in Dallas.
The pop songs in the film are nearly all performed
by Texas based rock bands and includes songs
by Young Heart Attack, 25% Toby, Spoon, Roky
Erikson, The Dicks, Riverboat Gamblers, Max
Cady, Record Hop, and The New Style American
Boyfriends.
Viewed in Austin in October of 2006 at The Dobie
Theater in the Egyptian Room as part of the
Austin Film Festival.
The
film was introduced by someone who had something
to do with picking the music for the film.
Report Card
Script:
F
Acting:
D-
Cinematography\Lighting:
D-
Special Effects\Make Up: C
Music:
C+
Final
Grade: D-
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