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One reviewer said of Mad Hot Ballroom (something like) "I dare you to sit through this movie and not have a grin on your face the whole time."It was funny, touching, insightful and inspiring to watch and listen to these children talk about their lives and relationships and to see them practice and compete etc. It was also nice to see something where there are winners and losers and the joy and sadness that accompanies those things aren't held back. So often these days competition has been taken out of the equation for children (leaving them, IMO, ill prepared for the real world and probably denying parent's of sharing those joys and sadnesses).
Me And You and Happy Endings were both quirky relationship movies. I have to give the nod to Me And You. It was intimate and warm and shocking and cold and extremely creatively directed by performance artist Miranda July. It was about how hard it can be to really connect and, of course, about how much we have the need to do so.
Happy Endings is worth seeing just for Maggie Gylenhall's (sp?) performance. She brings an enormous amount of life and depth to the film (and she's sexy as hell). It's a bit long and has 3 or 4 stories it's following but it too is involving (though not to the extent of Me And You) and it tells it's story about connections (and the attempts/desire to have them) in a much different setting/style. It's more like an Altman film.
"Where are we going? And what am I doing in this hand basket?"
Follow Ups:
Indie films seem to be stuck in formula. Nothing is fresh. Kids have to talk and think like adults in monotones, adults have to talk like kids to be happy. Creepy sexual speak coming out from kids with creepier acts. Miranda July's character is a terrible performance artist acting out like a looney from Fatal Attraction attracted to John Hawes character (who is acting insane) for no reason other than the fact that he is in the show. Ok. Lets make an indie film. Put together as many disturbing vinettes as you can with some sickly sweet stuff in too. This really sucked.
I don't think her character needs to be a good performance artist for the movie to be good and what some may see as a fatal attraction (huh? she had zero malice) stalker I saw as a person who felt a connection and was willing to risk being vulnerable to explore it. And I didn't see John Hawes character as insane I saw him as desperately trapped in a situation (his wife leaving) that he didn't know how to deal with and he did something crazy. I thought his performance in that scene was excellent and that he was living with the aftermath of having done something crazy for most of the rest of the movie.I also didn't find any scene particulalry disturbing or sickly sweet and thought the overall tone was very hopeful.
"Where are we going? And what am I doing in this hand basket?"
that this quirkiness is now a Indie Movie cliche? Wouldn't you have it in Indie Movie 101? Make sure the characters are quirky and like no one in the real world.I understand about allegories and metaphors. There were parts of the movie I enjoyed. Most of the kids' parts were creepy and I certainly didn't understand why they were in the movie or why the filmmaker believed putting little children into sexual peril was part of her statement.
Sure I think there are indie movie cliche's and quirky characters is certainly one them but the people making indie movies aren't the Ferrari driving Palyboy Playmate dating Michael Bays of the world (but then he's his own cliche). They're often the people who feel a little out of sorts with/in the world and their character's reflect that.And there are certainly people making "indie" flicks who don't actually resonate with alternative view/quirkiness of indie characters and those films are often where the cliche's (or perhaps stereotypes) stand out.
I believe that Miranda July is of the more genuine type and, for me, it was reflected in the film.
The sexual stuff with the kids made sense to me because it was an expression of their own desire to find/have/feel connection. It happens all the time, everywhere.
Anyway, that's my feeling. I liked it and would see it again on video but I certainly don't claim that my view is objective.
"Where are we going? And what am I doing in this hand basket?"
What do you prefer to what you see as these cliches? If you think about it, there is almost nothing new in any movie. It is just what you do with it.It all depends on my mood, because sometimes I like to see Batman or other Hollywood drivel, but usually I much prefer something that will make me think a little and present some compelling characters and tell an engaging story.
Would you rather see the wildly creative Dukes of Hazzard?
Later
D
Of course not. But this is not much better.
It is one of those indie films where everyone is quirky and weird just by definition...but I thought it was full of imagination, completely unpredictable, funny and somewhat charming. In some way, it reminded me of Happiness, although that is intrinsically a much darker and bleaker movie. In this summer of movie remakes, comic book remakes and TV remakes, I thoroughly enjoyed a bunch of oddball characters and their interactions.
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