I Used to Go Here
I Used to Go Here is a really funny yet modest take on “faking it ’til you make it”, as well as the internal wrestle between resisting and settling for feigned fulfilment.
Dramedy
Buffaloed
The filmmakers of Buffaloed believe more isn’t enough. It’s a movie that seems to be shouting and swearing for the audience’s enjoyment but, because there’s so much of it, viewers can’t help but zone out until the actors wind back down. A detrimental criticism considering the film’s underdog story requires our full attention.
The High Note
The High Note is an enjoyable romantic dramedy with charming performances and some great tunes.
Blush
Wendi McLendon-Covey is experiencing a really unique resurgence as an actor. After establishing herself as a quick-witted commedienne on Comedy Central’s Reno 911!, a longstanding role on ABC’s The Goldbergs has propelled her towards more endearing roles. While it’s a different change in pace for McLendon-Covey’s repertoire, she still knows how to bring the laughs. Blush is another career tilt for the actor but, this time, the tone is much darker and stranger than anyone…
Standing Up, Falling Down
Standing Up, Falling Down is a really nice dramedy about people finding and relating to each other. It’s funny, touching, performed well, and directed with fluency by newcomer Matt Ratner. As far as movies go about characters leaning on comedy as a crutch to hide their true emotions, the film is the best of its kind since Judd Apatow’s Funny People.
Space & Time
There seems to be an unhealthy trend of shooting and wrapping film productions within a short time frame (A Fall from Grace, Appiness). But for Toronto indie Space & Time, writer/director Shawn Gerrard sees the appeal of a patient process. Space & Time has been shot over the period of 11 months; allowing the film to naturally capture the passage of, well, space and time. This lends a potentially special quality to the film’s story…
Sometimes Always Never
Sometimes Always Never sets out to be quirky, but comes out dorky. It takes pride in its uneven nuances, gushy sentimentality, and jokes about Scrabble. What saves the mild-mannered movie to an extent, however, is how the awkwardness is (sort of) embraced through its humour.
Wild Rose
By: Jolie Featherstone “Three chords and the truth” – Harlan Howard’s oft-quoted definition of country music may well describe the soul of Wild Rose. Directed by Tom Harper and written by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose is a classic underdog tale with an endlessly watchable underdog in the form of the fiery Rose-Lynn Harlan.
Alright Now
Jamie Adams’ Alright Now, a romantic dramedy following a rock star following a particularly brutal double breakup, boasts that it is completely improvised. Here’s the funny thing about improvisation: you need actors who are good at it.
Support the Girls
Some of this year’s most endearing performances get buried by Andrew Bujalski’s faulty filmmaking in Support the Girls.