FTS’s Jess was really chatty about this film before I got to the festival. And while I didn’t hear many people talking about the film, they must have been at some point because the theatre was a seat or two short of being sold-out. I made my way into the Charles and found myself next to a very attractive blonde and…
One sister is getting married while the other just broke up with her boyfriend after he tried to propose to her at one of his rock shows (cause he’s the lead singer of a band). Nope, it’s not your mother’s Cameron Diaz and Katherine Heigl destruction of all things cinematic, it’s the premise of what I’m hoping will be a helping hand in the bringing of new romantic comedies: a film with an indie cast backed by an incredible script.
The film is fun and is more relatable than most rom-coms we see. If (500) Days of Summer did it first, then it did a great job of passing the torch to the next indie comedy to give the rom-coms a much-needed dose of reality. At times it’s like watching real people deal with their feelings but then you realize wow, these people are really good looking. With a cast of Alison Brie, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Geoffrey Arend, Mark Webber, and Timothy Busfield, how could your movie not succeed? Even if you took the cast away, the dialogue alone is fantastic, the cast only makes it better. As great as Alison Brie and Lizzy Caplan are as the two sisters (Alison is getting married while Lizzy is struggling with the concept of relationships) the men in the film, particularly Martin Starr shine. Every time he enters a scene, it’s his. When he leaves, you’re kinda hoping he comes back. Mark Webber is also fantastic adding this to an already impressive resume (Scott Pilgrim vs The World.)
The plot may come across as typical and even some of the turns it makes may seem typical too, but how the characters deal with these situations and even bring light to the situation is both realistic and enjoyable.
Another big plus is the focus on art. Screenwriter Egan Reich worked on the screenplay with artist Jeffery Brown and wrote a screenplay (which took 4 years) that’s part autobiographical, part romance, and all around comedy. Even the art that Caplan’s character draws and later showcases is Brown’s. The music in the film is basic indie lo-fi that comes across as forgettable but it doesn’t take away from the film. See this in theatres!
The director, Michael Mohan, took center stage in his green zip-up hoodie to lots of applause and a few cheers (most likely from the women in the audience.) When asking about the gensis of the movie, Mohan revealed that he was a big fan of Jeffery Brown and he happened to bump into him at Sundance a few years ago. Brown mentioned the movie he was working on. With no director attached, Mohan asked if he could direct and the result was what we saw on the screen. I asked how difficult it was getting the cast together. The director, being a fan of the hilarious TV series Party Down, couldn’t believe he was able to get whom he got. All he did was write down the names of whom he wanted and he got them. No hassle no mess. Even the cast told him making this film should be a pain for him but it wasn’t. Everyone was really cool and production was very smooth: almost too smooth. Mohan then shared with us, even though he wasn’t supposed to, news that all moviegoers will appreciate and that is the film has been picked up for distribution and will receive a release. Now whether that’s limited or wide he didn’t specify so keep an ear out for this movie!
