It has to be a difficult choice for a film maker to
decide to take on the combined genres of comedy and drama. At face value they
might seem to be on opposite ends of the emotional spectrum; one makes you laugh
while the other may bring you to tears. The truth of the matter is they are
closer than you think. It has been said that comedy is just a matter of
distance. If you see a man falling on a banana peel you will laugh. If you are
close enough to see the look of pain on his face you are moved with sympathy.
When making a comedy drama a director has to tread a very fine line between the
two. He, or in this case, she, has to keep the audience far enough away from the
situations to laugh ad then reel them in enough to reverse the emotional impact.
In her film ‘The Night of the White Pants’ she manages to balance on that
tightrope to near perfection. This is not to say that Ms Talkington does not
make mistakes in the story and the presentation. She does and the film has its
share of technical flaws. The thing here is the film is the type that is better
received by the audience than the critics. One primary reason for this is how
Talkington manages to connect with those watching the film. There is a degree of
humanity to the characters and situations that what is seen is enjoyable. The
movie embodies the spirit of the independent film. It cost about a million
dollars which may seem like a lot of money but in the film industry it would
barely cover trailers for the cast and crew. It was also shot in about three
weeks. Talkington overcame these restrictions with more than a modicum of style.
In the first viewing I was too caught up with the technical side of the movie.
Then I decided to watch it again and just relax. It was then that I understood
what was being done here and I enjoyed the film immensely. The film made the
usual festival rounds and is getting a wider release on DVD through Image
Entertainment. Those out there who is in the mood for a quirky film that this
might be a good one to try. It is a solid piece of entertainment.
Amy Talkington has a few scripts too her credit that
include a couple of shorts and a road trip drama. She also wrote the screenplay
for ‘Brave New Girl’ based on a novel credited to Brittany Spears and her mother
Lynn. Okay, that alone demonstrated that Talkington was willing to pay her dues
in this field. Here she takes her story in a different direction. Her story has
the usual standard characters for a tale about a highly dysfunctional family.
After all that is a perfect source material for a film that needs to blend
comedy and drama; we all have elements of such a family ourselves. The story
just takes things to the limits with the age old technique of reductio de
adsurbum. The characters here are admittedly painted with too board a brush to
make this a character driven flick. They are mostly one dimensional stereotypes
that for the most part only change or grow in a predicable fashion. What drives
this story is the way Talkington sets up the situations and throws her
characters into the mix. She takes these people on a bizarre ride though an
almost existential journey. With a situational story it is vital to make the
circumstances odd enough to keep things interesting but familiar enough to let
the viewers feel that it could just happen to them. This is another fine line
that Talkington treads well. It also taps into a typical plot point that is sure
to pull the audience in. Even thought the main character here loses everything
there is a sense of freedom from daily responsibilities that follows. Deep
inside most of us is a little voice that urges us to chuck it all and just live.
Of course we never listen; that would be ridiculous but that nagging feeling is
what this film connects to.
As is typical for many independent film makers most of
the scripts Talkington wrote were also directed by her. Since this is a
situational driven story it is appropriate that Talkington employs a looser
style than usual. With a character oriented film there has to be a tighter
control of the action in order to push the story in the right direction. The way
this film comes across is far more freewheeling. Talkington points the cast and
lets them careen from one set of wacky circumstances after another. Her method
of direction allows the talented cast to let go and have some fun with their
roles.
The film is about Max Hagan (Tom Wilkinson) a very
successful business man living in Texas. As the film opens we get a little taste
of what is to come; a lawn that was once lush and green now sports brown spots,
a sprinkler head tries to push up but only managers to spurt a bit of water. Max
was a wheeler and dealer, had a beautiful trophy wife, Barbara (Janine Turner)
and generally a life most men would envy. Then things began to turn around on
Max. He had a heart attack and his company was sold. Making matters worse his
wife has put him through one of the bitterest divorces in history. One evening
he tries to sit down to dinner with his adult children. First there is Lolly
(Geri Jewell) who is physically handicapped, Millian (Fran Kranz), the stoner
and the high strung and motivated Beth (Selma Blair). Also along for the evening
is Beth’s boyfriend Raff (Nick Stahl). He is a punk rocker whose day job is as a
computer programmer. A little later it is disclosed that Raff is also the source
of Millians seemingly constant supply of drugs. Before the evening gets too much
of a chance to get started Barbara turns up with a pair of sheriff’s deputies
and a bull horn demanding that Max leave the house immediately. She does not
allow him to take anything but the literal clothes on his back. This includes
the aforementioned white pants. With no where else to go Max winds up leaving
with Raff. What ensues is putting Max through a pinball machine like night
careening from one bad situation after another. Eventually they are joined by
Felicia (Laura Jordan) who is the type of girl always up for a good time. There
is an interesting development that as we watch Max fall apart we get to see that
Raff is in his own way a very capable businessman.
The cast here is fantastic. Wilkinson has been a
character actor for many years and has never disappointed his audience. He has
that every man quality that allows the audience to feel for the plight of his
character. Blair has made full career playing wonderfully strange characters.
She is able to bring humor to the any role she plays. Here she is going somewhat
against type portraying a straight perfectionist. Stahl has been turning up in
the least likely places in film and television. He was fantastic in HBO’s short
lived ‘Carnival’ and here gives excellent depth to the role of Raff.
This is a strange little film that grows on you. It is
fun and shows a night that anyone would be glad not to have. Image Entertainment
has some of the best in Indy film and this is a very good example. Get this one.