Doing the Crazy Dance!

I’m writing this as I lounge in my cozy condo in Park City, Utah. It’s the first official day of the 25th Annual Sundance Film Festival and my movie count is at three films. My first shift starts in four hours and I’m running on about four hours of sleep.

Last night we were treated to volunteer screenings of Prom Night in Mississippi and Lymelife, while this afternoon’s theatre adventure was to see HumpDay.

Given my tired/relaxed/overly hot-tubbed frame of mind, these will be short and sweet.

Prom Night in Mississippi is a documentary from Canadian filmmaker Paul Saltzman (yay Canada!). It follows the senior high school students of 2,100 population Charleston, Mississippi as they plan for their first integrated prom. Despite the fact that the US government abolished segregation in 1954, and the high schools became integrated in the early 1970’s, the non-progressive parents of Charleston still insisted on segregated proms – the “white” prom and the “black” prom. Given that the students interact and attend classes together on a daily basis, it’s almost absurd to think that such a situation could still be in existence. It all comes to a change when Morgan Freeman revamps his offer, originally made in 1998, to sponsor the first integrated prom.

The film takes an honest and sometimes heart wrenching look at racism, inter-generational relationships and parent/teen control issues while still capturing the fun of the teenagers and excitement leading up to their prom. It proves that issues such as racism can be overcome, and challenges both the film’s participants and viewers to try and make that change in our generation.

One of the most central interviews in the film is with the racist father of a teen who is in an inter-racial relationship. He admits to his point of view, shows no reason to change it while at the same time showing a level of remorse for this opinion being ingrained into him. But he loves his daughter and will stand by her even if he disagrees with her relationship choices. To me this shows the triumph of love and tolerance over hatred and self-righteousness. A heavy film to start the festival with perhaps - but an important film that everyone should see. The premiere of the film is Saturday January 17th at my theatre, and I look forward to hearing the Q&A if I have the chance!

Lymelife premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, but was developed through the Sundance Institute. The film follows Scott Bartlett, a 15 year old growing up in 1970s Long Island, as he copes with the dysfunction of his parents’ marriage, his crush on next door neighbour Adrianna, all with the backdrop of a Lyme disease breakout that has already claimed the sanity of Adrianna’s father.

Featuring strong performances by Timothy Hutton, Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy and the Culkin brothers, the only weak point in the acting is from Cynthia Nixon. However, this set aside, the film is quirky and wonderful, as is the soundtrack provided by The Spaceship Martini (a band belonging to Steven Martini, the director’s brother and also the film’s editor, composer and co-writer). The audience of Sundance volunteers seemed to unanimously agree that this film deserves the award for best worst first sex experience. Here’s hoping the rest of the festival will enjoy the charm of this film, shot in only 22 days on a $1.5 million budget.

After trying (and failing) to get into a screening of The Killing Room, we made a last minute dash to the Eccles theatre to catch the premiere of HumpDay. And I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! Let’s start with the premise for this one – two recently reunited friends decide to make porn featuring the two of them having gay sex, despite the fact that they’re completely straight, and one of them is married.

At the core of HumpDay is a certain awkwardness and honesty that is rarely seen on the screen these days. Filmed largely with improvisation from actors Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard, director Lynn Shelton tackles the male ego in a funny and unique way. While some scenes feel a bit long, the editing and drawn out scenes add to the audience’s reaction to what they are watching – the camera is a mere observer, lending a realism to the story that often isn’t found with flashy quick edits – you have the sense that you’re getting every painstaking second of the story, and it’s worth it.

So I guess that means so far I’m 3/3 for movies!

Prom Night in Mississippi - 4 stars
Lymelife - 3 ½ stars
HumpDay – 3 ½ stars