SXSW 2022
Greetings again from the darkness. It’s difficult to know whether the biggest story here is the one of the cringiest movies you’ll see or the fact that writer-director-star James Morosini based it on the actual relationship and events with his own father. Morosini opens the film with this: “The following actually happened. My dad asked me to tell you it didn’t.” That sounds kinda funny and sets the stage for some father-son conflict. But it certainly doesn’t prepare us for what we are about to watch.
The always terrific Patton Oswalt plays Chuck, the father. We listen to a steady stream of voicemails Chuck leaves for his son over the years, and we know immediately what kind of absentee, break-another-promise father he’s been to his son. Franklin (played by filmmaker Morosini) is finishing up his stint in therapy after a suicide attempt. By his side is his protective and worried and hopeful mother (Amy Landecker). Guess who is not there.
Being that it’s a movie, albeit one based on real life, we wonder if this is going to be a story of redemption for the father, the son, both, or neither. As part of the boundaries set by Franklin after his therapy, he blocks his father from social media. So desperate he is to re-connect with his son that Chuck undertakes a catfishing strategy. Yep, he creates a fake account using the identity of a cute waitress named Becca (a charming Claudia Sulewski) to befriend Franklin and talk about life. Of course, Franklin is so in need of human interaction that he begins to fall for virtual Becca, and Chuck’s mess just gets messier. He even involves his co-worker friend (Lil Rey Howery) and his boss/lover (Rachel Dratch), but who stand opposed to the whole thing.
The story is horribly sad and pathetic, but the actors inject enough levity that we aren’t wallowing in pain while watching. In an innovative step, Becca and Franklin appear together during their texting conversations – well, it’s a virtual representation of Franklin’s imagination. Mr. Oswalt is extremely effective at generating human emotions in a guy that could easily be vilified as public enemy number one. At his core, Chuck is just a well-meaning guy who stinks at being a parent – despite being desperate to connect with his son. As a parent, presence is crucial and much of it is about effort. Desperation can lead to bad decisions, and Mr. Morosini bravely exposes his own turmoil for a film that might hit home to more people than we imagine.
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Expectations were sky high for the latest from writer-director Jeff Baena. His twisted humor was evident in THE LITTLE HOURS (2017), and he has collaborated again with his HORSE GIRL (2020) co-writer Alison Brie, who also takes the lead role. The assembled cast is filled to the brim with folks who have proven comedy chops, and much of the film takes place in gorgeous Italy. What could go wrong? Well, technically nothing goes wrong, it’s just not as right as we hoped.
Greetings again from the darkness. How about a modern day version of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) leaning heavily into our social media world? Co-writers and co-directors Joseph Winter and Vanessa Winter include touches of the multitude of Ghost Hunter-type TV shows while blending humor with a heavy dose of make-up, especially in the film’s second half.
Greetings again from the darkness. For those of us who spend entirely too many hours of our life watching movies, it’s always a welcome pleasure to stumble upon one that is creative and innovative and entertaining. The first feature film from writer-director Colin West is all that, plus it’s funny and touching and features some science. As an added bonus, it features the always great Jim Gaffigan in a dual starring role.
Greetings again from the darkness. If only the transformation brought on by puberty were half as soft and cuddly as the giant Red Panda in this latest from Pixar, imagine the reduction in slammed doors and the increase in dinner table conversations between parents and young teenagers. Writer-director Domee Shi won an Oscar for her excellent animated short film BAO (2018), and has collaborated with co-writer Julia Cho for the director’s first feature. It seems reasonable to assume that much of what we see on screen is taken from their own adolescent experiences, as well as those of countless others.
Greetings again from the darkness. At a certain age, most of us have given some thought to what we might say to our younger self if we had the opportunity to go back in time. The familiar phrase goes, “Hindsight is 20/20”, but what if we had foresight? What if we knew the best choices to make, and the bad decisions to avoid? Director Shawn Levy (the “Night at the Museum” franchise) reunites with his FREE GUY (2021) actor, Ryan Reynolds, to bring us a crowd-pleasing time travel movie with a personal twist. The script was co-written by Jonathan Tropper (“Banshee” creator), TS Nowlin (“The Maze Runner” franchise), and Jennifer Flackett (“Big Mouth”).
Greetings again from the darkness. Being a high school kid has always been challenging, and today’s added pressures of social media makes being an outlier almost unbearable at times. Writer-director Paul A Kaufman (in his feature film directing debut) has adapted the 2012 novel by Erin Jade Lange into a film that tackles several emotional hurdles, some of which are downright devastating.
Greetings again from the darkness. As a kid in Glasgow, Alan McGee’s dream was the same as many others: he wanted to make it big in the music business. A TV appearance by The Sex Pistols lit the proverbial fire, and Alan became obsessed. However, as he states in the film, “I didn’t have any talent, which limited my opportunities.” What he did possess was ambition and commitment. The last few years have produced an abundance of music biopics, yet this one isn’t based on a great singer, songwriter, or guitar player. Instead, director Nick Moran and co-writers Dean Cavanagh and Irvine Welsh have adapted Alan McGee’s autobiography, “The Creation Records Story: Riots, Raves and Running a Label.”
Greetings again from the darkness. It all happens in the first three minutes. Peter gets dumped by Anne, and Emma gets dumped by Noah. We haven’t even had a chance to form any opinions of these two long-term relationships, and just like that … they are both kaput. Director Jason Orley and screenwriters (LOVE, SIMON collaborators) Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger toss us a curveball by having the dumpees form an alliance to help the other win back their dumpers. It’s an unconventional approach in this genre and it works due to some sharp writing, and the extraordinary comic timing of the two leads.
Greetings again from the darkness. The thing about humans is that we are always looking towards the future to see how we can make things easier, better, or more exciting. This is often with an eye towards more fuel-efficient cars, smaller and more powerful computers, and more effective medical treatments. Writer-director Maria Schrader and co-writer Jan Schomburg have adapted the short story from Emma Braslavsky and turn the lens to relationships and love. Is it possible to advance inter-personal relations to the point of perfection? Would that even be desirable or preferable to the messiness that’s gone on since the beginning of time?
