Sundance Preview: The Premieres (views)
Now that the holidays are over, it's beginning to look a lot like Sundance, one of my favorite stops on the fest circuit. Sure, the movies can be dicey; like most fests, the Sundance catalog descriptions tend to make every film on the slate sound like the Next Great Discovery, and often you walk out of a screening feeling the need to double-check that catalog write-up to see if perhaps you wandered into the wrong film.
Anyone who goes to Sundance (well, any fest really, but Sundance, for all its hype, is no exception) has sat through a slew of bad films. Often they're just mildly disappointing, or leave you puzzling over what better (or worse) films didn't make the cut to allow this particular film a slot; sometimes they're bad enough that you have to claw your hands under the ruthlessly sadistic, butt-numbing molded plastic chairs that pass for seats in the press rooms at the Yarrow to keep from running for the door midway through the first act.
And yet, when I get that Sundance catalog in the mail, I start perusing it endlessly, trying to decipher the hidden meanings of the film write-ups in hopes of finding the one or two gems buried in the mounds of fest detritus. I know they're there, and every year I, along with everyone else, puzzle over the slate hoping not to miss some really great film while I'm sitting through something wretched instead.
Here's Part One of our Sundance films preview: the films in the Premieres category that look most promising ... or at least intriguing. More previews to come as we head toward Sundance, so stay tuned.
Film Title: 500 Days of Summer
Director: Marc Webb
Screenwriter: Scott Neustadter, Michael Weber
Principal Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
What It's About: Boy meets girl ... boy falls in love ... girl doesn't.
Why It Might be Good: It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose work since he jumped into indie films after taking a break from acting post-Third Rock has been mostly solid (Mysterious Skin, Brick, The Lookout); on the other hand, it stars Zooey Deschanel in yet another "quirky young woman" role. I like Deschanel, but I feel like she has yet to break out of the quirky indie-film girl mode she's been boxed into, and this one may be yet another in a run of mundane fest films she's done (see also: Gigantic, The Go-Getter, The Good Life ...). Still, Gordon-Levitt's history of choosing smart, interesting scripts gives this one a check mark in the "check it out" column.
Film Title: Adventureland
Director: Greg Mottola
Screenwriter: Greg Mottola
Principal Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig
What It's About: A recent college grad (Jesse Eisenberg, from The Squid and the Whale) is forced to take a low-rent job in a local amusement park for the summer after his folks drop the bomb that they can no longer afford to subsidize his long-planned post-grad trip to Europe. Kristen Stewart plays the love interest he meets in-between dealing with the bevy of families and freaks he encounters at the park.
Why it Might be Good: Mottola previously directed Superbad, but equally importantly, he also directed two of my favorite episodes of Lisa Kudrow's vastly under-appreciated series The Comeback, along with three episodes of Arrested Development, all of which bodes well for giving this film a shot. Eisenberg was great in The Squid and the Whale and Stewart, all Twilight-ribbing aside, is a solid indie actress with a lot of talent. Mottola is certain to have mined plenty of comic gold from the premise of being a college grad working an amusement-park gig that will resonate with anyone's who's ever worked a spectacularly crappy job. I have high hopes for this one. I hope they don't get crushed.
Film Title: I Love You Phillip Morris
Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Principal Cast: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro
What It's About: Here's what I got from the catalog description: Small-town cop (Jim Carrey) turns white collar criminal, gets caught, goes to prison, falls in love with Ewan McGregor, and then ... something involving escape attempts ... and dead cons.
Why it Might be Good: The writeup implies a Bad Santa vibe, reminding us the writer/director team was also the writing team behind that one, which doesn't necessarily turn me off. Plus, Carrey as the as crazy gay prison lover with McGregor the object of his affections ? Okay ... bring it on.
Film Title: Manure
Director: Michael Polish
Screenwriter: Mark Polish, Michael Polish
Principal Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Tea Leoni, Kyle MachLachlan
What It's About: After Mr. Rose, owner of a large manure company, goes to that big compost heap in the sky, his daughter Rosemary (Tea Leoni), a high-class cosmetic saleswoman (read: she will probably be adverse to the dirtier aspects of the poop business at first, but will overcome her prim feminity in her desire to rise to the top of the heap. But there's a ruthless manure barren (Kyle Maclachlan) wants is plotting a takeover, so she reluctantly enlists the assistance of her company's top salesman (Billy Bob Thornton) to help save the business.
Why it Might be Good: Huh. Just toss in a magical native kid and a massive bombing, and it's kind of like Australia, only with more poop. Still, it sounds interesting, and I like the cast well enough (well, so long as Machlanlan doesn't masticate the scenery too much as the villain). Loved Twin Falls, Idaho, the film in which the Polish brothers played Siamese twins, and if they give this tale a quirky vibe, it could end up being good.
Film Title: Mary and Max
Director/Screenwriter: Adam Elliot
Principal Cast: Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Humphries, Eric Bana
Why it Might be Good:I'm inclined to be hopeful about Mary and Max, not least because of the presence of Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead roles. I'm quite looking forward to this one.
Film Title: Moon Director: Duncan Jones Screenwriter: Nathan Parker Principal Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, Kya Scodelario, Malcolm Stewart
What It's About: Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut nearing the end of an three-year solitary mission on an isolated moon base, monitoring tractors harvesting helium, passing the time by exchanging transmissions from his wife and daughter, caring for plants, and interacting with the ship's computer. But when a hallucination causes him to crash his rover, he wakes up in the sick bay to find that all has not been as it seemed.
Why it Might be Good: The premise sounds pretty interesting, especially with an actor like Rockwell in the lead. Actually, the presence of both Rockwell and Kevin Spacey would be enough to put it on my interest list even if it was about two guys who grow beets, but this one has potential.
Film Title: Rudo y Cursi Director/Screenwriter: Carlos Cuaron Principal Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna
What It's About: Two dim-witted, competitive brothers work on a banana ranch and play for their local soccer team. When Tato (Gael Garcia Bernal) gets recruited to be a star player, brother Beto (Diego Luna) gets a position as goalie on a rival team.
Why it Might be Good: This one reunites Bernal and Luna, who were fantastic in Y Tu Mama Tambien, for which Carlos Cuaron co-wrote the screenplay. This time around, Cuaron directs his own script. This one sounds both funny and engaging, and I can't wait to see it.
Film Title: Spread
Director: David MacKenzie
Screenwriter: Jason Dean Hall
Principal Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche
What It's About:
Why it Might be Good: Oh, c'mon, Kutcher as the sexual boy-toy of middle-aged wealthy women? You know you want to see it.
Film Title: The Winning Season
Director: James Strouse
Principal Cast: Sam Rockwell, Emma Roberts, Shareeka Epps, Emily Rios
What It's About:
Why it Might be Good: Roberts was actually very good in Nancy Drew, Epps shone in Half Nelson, and Rios was moving and charming in Quinceanara, which won both the Audience and Grand Jury prizes at Sundance two years ago. And Strouse directed Grace is Gone, one of the most underrated films of 2007. Potentially good, definitely worth catching.