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15th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival Reviews
By Rich Drees
The latest documentary from Oscar nominated director Kirby Dick (Twist Of Faith, 2004) created a sensation in January when it screened at the Sundance Film Festival and it is easy to see why. Dick sets out to expose the members of the most secretive cabal in America- the nine “average parents” who make up the Motion Picture Association of America board that applies ratings to all movies released in the United States. For years filmmakers have complained about the rating process, charging that films with certain themes- mostly related to sexuality – will receive more restrictive ratings than films with violent content. Independent films also seem to have a harder time with the ratings board than films from the major studios, which coincidentally are the financers of the MPAA. The film is at its best when Dick is juxtapositioning his investigation against Valenti’s public statements about the ratings board. While television interview footage shows Valenti over and over stating that the ratings board is made up of average parents of children between the ages of five and seventeen, through a private investigator's findings, Dick shows us that five of the nine board members have children over that age range while a sixth member has no children at all. It’s some pretty damning reportage and Dick stops just short of portraying Valenti as a mustache-twirling villain. Ultimately, though, a film like this screening at a film festival is a bit like preaching to the converted. Festival audiences are, for the most part, savvy enough to be familiar with many of the complaints filmmakers have brought forward about the rating process. The real test of whether or not the film can effect a change in the process will come this fall when it goes into general release around the country.
While traveling in Japan fashion designer Ida (Alexandra Maria Lara) meets two dealers in exotic fish Otto (Christian Ulmen) and Leo (Simon Verhoeven). Ida and Otto soon become involved and eventually marry, though his laidback nature is at odds with her career ambitions, with trouble erupting when Ida gains overnight success for her designs based on the koi fish that Otto is an expert on. The Fisherman And His Wife is a fairy tale romance, right down to certain fantasy elements including a fish couple who provide cynical commentary on the state of Otto and Ida’s relationship. While some of the plot points feel like they came directly from Hollywood Romantic Comedy Writing 101, the film never overplays them and manages to keep them feeling fresh and believable. The end result is a charming movie that plays with standard story conventions to produce a delightful film fable.
After recent high school graduates Keira (Caroline Dhavernas) and Lisa (Holly Lewis) catch their friend Glory (Amanda Walsh) in bed with married pot-dealer Keith (Bones’ David Boreanaz), they decide that they both would like to sample the physical appeal of an older, more experienced lover. At first Glory is resistant to the idea of sharing her lover, but who is she going to complain to- Keith’s wife who works the graveyard shift at the local hospital? The three force a schedule on Keith that leaves him exhausted and looking for a way out of a situation that most other men would be envious of. Based on a play by Vivienne Laxdal, its plot may sound like it was ripped from the letters page of a men’s adult magazine, but These Girls actually plays more as a smart sex-comedy than improbable male fantasy. Boreanaz turns in a nice performance as the bumbling Keith, drawing on the comedy chops he developed while starring on television’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. Lewis shows restraint in not making her Bible-college-bound character - too cartoonish even though she feels that her tryst with Keith isn’t sinning as she hasn’t been baptized yet.
Twenty-four hours in the rather aimless lives of several twenty-somethings in a small Arizona town forms what could loosely be called the narrative thread of this film. Jimmy (John Patrick Amedori) uses his job delivering pizzas as a cover to sell drugs to pay off his mounting gambling debts. Jessica (Jill Ritchie) is trying to avoid her abusive boyfriend (Kenny Morrison) who is accusing her of cheating on him and giving him an STD. Ambulance driver Heather (Erica Leerhsen) also thinks her police officer boyfriend (Erica Szmanda) has been cheating on her, while her friend and co-worker Allison (Rachel Miner) knows more about the situation than she is letting on. Meanwhile, two friends (DJ Qualls and Lost’s Jorge Garcia) scramble to find the cash to pay their landlord three months back rent. The film’s crisp photography serves as a sharp relief to the cast’s rather desperate lives. The actors do a fine job with the material, but ultimately there is not a single likeable character in the script. By the time the inevitable drug and alcohol fueled violence breaks out at the film’s climax, you find yourself rooting for all the characters to get a good beating.
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This
Film Is Not Yet Rated (United States)
The
Fisherman And His Wife (Germany)
These
Girls (Canada)
Little
Athens (United States)