Yesterday I saw Brittany Runs a Marathon, starring Jillian Bell and Jennifer Dundas.
Based on a real woman who transformed her life, the film tells the story of Brittany, an overweight twenty-something who likes to have fun. Perhaps too much fun.
After an awkward doctor's appointment where she's basically diagnosed as being "fat," Brittany decides to take control of her life and does just that. She takes up running, leaves a troublesome friend behind, makes new friends and resumes dating. Along the way she goes through the natural ups and downs associated with life changes and finds herself in situations that result in some not-so-great behavior.
Jillian Bell is fantastic in this role because she makes you sympathize with her pain, yet get angry at her mishaps. She's also got perfect comedic timing, which keeps the dialog from getting formulaic. Her actions felt real and by the time the film was over, us audience members felt like an honorary friend who shared her journey.
I was a bit annoyed by her romantic partner and the predictability of their progression, but other than that, this was a sweet little film.
~~~
Showing posts with label indie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label indie. Show all posts
Friday, November 22, 2019
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Chalk
Today I saw Chalk, starring Troy Schremmer and Shannon Haragan.
The film is staged like a fake documentary, which follows a group of teachers and administrators through a school year at an American high school.
Many of the stereotypical things about schools are targeted for laughs (nervous new teachers, the PE teacher being mistaken for a lesbian, gossip in the faculty lounge, etc.) as this is a comedy, but it wasn't quite strong enough to live up to its trailer.
I remember seeing a preview for this a few weeks back and getting very excited. Schools are a big part of my life—I now work at one, I once was a teacher and I am friends with several teachers. The culture is never dull, the stories are almost always funny and there is plenty of natural 'material' to draw on.
But as I was watching this movie, I got the sense they didn't really know how to harness that material without dumbing it down to a nearly slapstick level, and that left me longing for a real documentary to get the job done.
What I found most distracting were the actors' attempts to portray their roles as if they were guest stars on the American version of The Office. Many 'serious' diary entries to what I guess was supposed to be a 'home journal' were spliced in with 'action' shots and that didn't work at all.
The dialogue delivery was intentionally campy, when it should have really been more 'serious' to echo sincerity...THAT would have been hilarious.
They were just too conscious of their characters for it to be flawless.
That said, there were some funny moments—namely happy hour and the history teacher who takes away his student's cell phone.
The film is staged like a fake documentary, which follows a group of teachers and administrators through a school year at an American high school.
Many of the stereotypical things about schools are targeted for laughs (nervous new teachers, the PE teacher being mistaken for a lesbian, gossip in the faculty lounge, etc.) as this is a comedy, but it wasn't quite strong enough to live up to its trailer.
I remember seeing a preview for this a few weeks back and getting very excited. Schools are a big part of my life—I now work at one, I once was a teacher and I am friends with several teachers. The culture is never dull, the stories are almost always funny and there is plenty of natural 'material' to draw on.
But as I was watching this movie, I got the sense they didn't really know how to harness that material without dumbing it down to a nearly slapstick level, and that left me longing for a real documentary to get the job done.
What I found most distracting were the actors' attempts to portray their roles as if they were guest stars on the American version of The Office. Many 'serious' diary entries to what I guess was supposed to be a 'home journal' were spliced in with 'action' shots and that didn't work at all.
The dialogue delivery was intentionally campy, when it should have really been more 'serious' to echo sincerity...THAT would have been hilarious.
They were just too conscious of their characters for it to be flawless.
That said, there were some funny moments—namely happy hour and the history teacher who takes away his student's cell phone.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The Italian
Tonight I saw The Italian, starring the adorable Kolya Spridonov.
Dickensian is a proper way to describe the film, set in an icy, perpetually damp Russia.
The story follows six-year-old Vanya, who lives in a miserable orphanage and is about to be 'sold' to an Italian couple who wants to adopt him. Before he's taken, he encounters a desperate mother who has returned to his orphanage to claim her biological son only to find out he's already been adopted. Seeing how much this mother loved her boy, although she'd originally abandoned him, gives Vanya hope that his natural mother may also come back for him.
Thus begins the adventures of Vanya.
With help from older orphans, he sets out to find his biological mother and endures amazing obstacles along the way. Without giving anything away, I'll just say I teared up throughout the film. Spridonov's performance is magnificent and the supporting cast are so realistic you feel as if they're living out their existences now, even though the movie has ended.
Heartwrenching? Yes. But definitely worth a watch.
Dickensian is a proper way to describe the film, set in an icy, perpetually damp Russia.
The story follows six-year-old Vanya, who lives in a miserable orphanage and is about to be 'sold' to an Italian couple who wants to adopt him. Before he's taken, he encounters a desperate mother who has returned to his orphanage to claim her biological son only to find out he's already been adopted. Seeing how much this mother loved her boy, although she'd originally abandoned him, gives Vanya hope that his natural mother may also come back for him.
Thus begins the adventures of Vanya.
With help from older orphans, he sets out to find his biological mother and endures amazing obstacles along the way. Without giving anything away, I'll just say I teared up throughout the film. Spridonov's performance is magnificent and the supporting cast are so realistic you feel as if they're living out their existences now, even though the movie has ended.
Heartwrenching? Yes. But definitely worth a watch.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Flannel Pajamas
This morning I saw Flannel Pajamas, perhaps the best relationship movie I've ever seen.
It shows two people fall in love and then follows their painful process of realizing that they're not meant to be with one another despite that love.
Nicole (Julianne Nicholson) and Stuart (Justin Kirk) have a love-at-first-sight blind date after being set up by their mutual therapist and the sparks fly. The audience is told immediately that they will have problems based on the fact Stuart tells Nicole on this first night that her best friend is evil—he's made an instant judgement on her character after spending only a few minutes with her.
Despite this, the spark develops into an infatuation, which leads to good sex and a playful, nurturing relationship. Stuart wants to take care of Nicole; Nicole desperately needs someone to take care of her.
They are different religions (Jewish and Catholic), come from different types of dysfunctional families (his cold and distant; hers close and abusive) and don't seem to have a lot in common other than liking to sleep with each other. So they get married.
Like so many couples, they think the talks that they've had about major life decisions (pets, children, place to live, career) are somehow more negotiable once the rings are on the fingers and forget that marriage is techncially a contract, no matter how much you care for the other person.
Just like real life, their relationship gets worse and worse the longer they stay together. Each person's needs are ignored by the other and an overwhelming resentment sets in for the other person. They confide in everyone but each other and what respect they once had for their partner all but disappears into the despair.
Stuart has a didn't-know-how-good-he-had-it-until-it-was-gone revelation; Nicole realized he was never going to be the man she wanted him to be.
This film should be required viewing for every couple that gets engaged. It's cliché to say it, but it's true—sometimes love just isn't enough.
It shows two people fall in love and then follows their painful process of realizing that they're not meant to be with one another despite that love.
Nicole (Julianne Nicholson) and Stuart (Justin Kirk) have a love-at-first-sight blind date after being set up by their mutual therapist and the sparks fly. The audience is told immediately that they will have problems based on the fact Stuart tells Nicole on this first night that her best friend is evil—he's made an instant judgement on her character after spending only a few minutes with her.
Despite this, the spark develops into an infatuation, which leads to good sex and a playful, nurturing relationship. Stuart wants to take care of Nicole; Nicole desperately needs someone to take care of her.
They are different religions (Jewish and Catholic), come from different types of dysfunctional families (his cold and distant; hers close and abusive) and don't seem to have a lot in common other than liking to sleep with each other. So they get married.
Like so many couples, they think the talks that they've had about major life decisions (pets, children, place to live, career) are somehow more negotiable once the rings are on the fingers and forget that marriage is techncially a contract, no matter how much you care for the other person.
Just like real life, their relationship gets worse and worse the longer they stay together. Each person's needs are ignored by the other and an overwhelming resentment sets in for the other person. They confide in everyone but each other and what respect they once had for their partner all but disappears into the despair.
Stuart has a didn't-know-how-good-he-had-it-until-it-was-gone revelation; Nicole realized he was never going to be the man she wanted him to be.
This film should be required viewing for every couple that gets engaged. It's cliché to say it, but it's true—sometimes love just isn't enough.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Factotum
Tonight I saw this movie (free thanks to SIFF) and I won't say any more about it until we decide what the topic of our next podcast will be. If it doesn't end up being this, I'll blog about it later in the week.
UPDATE: We did not choose this movie to be a Cinebanter topic, so my review is as follows:
Matt Dillon portrays Hank...the character that Charles Bukowski created in the image of himself. Hank is a writer who passes the time by taking jobs he has no interest in and failing miserably at each of them. He alternately squats at the houses of his parents, his lovers and a few whores here and there. He's unlikable, directionless and mean-spirited. You never want to root for him, even with a few glimpses of his redeeming quality (a sense of humor).
Overall, the movie was so slow it was boring. Matt was horribly miscast and too good-looking for the role. Lili Taylor was perfectly cast as his part-time love Jan, but she didn't have much to work with by way of the script. Marisa Tomei (who is billed as a supporting player) makes more of a cameo appearance than a lasting impression, not given enough time to develop her character.
Thank goodness it was free.
UPDATE: We did not choose this movie to be a Cinebanter topic, so my review is as follows:
Matt Dillon portrays Hank...the character that Charles Bukowski created in the image of himself. Hank is a writer who passes the time by taking jobs he has no interest in and failing miserably at each of them. He alternately squats at the houses of his parents, his lovers and a few whores here and there. He's unlikable, directionless and mean-spirited. You never want to root for him, even with a few glimpses of his redeeming quality (a sense of humor).
Overall, the movie was so slow it was boring. Matt was horribly miscast and too good-looking for the role. Lili Taylor was perfectly cast as his part-time love Jan, but she didn't have much to work with by way of the script. Marisa Tomei (who is billed as a supporting player) makes more of a cameo appearance than a lasting impression, not given enough time to develop her character.
Thank goodness it was free.
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