Friday, March 4, 2016

Jason goes to Cinequest--Day 3

Two more movies last night (Thursday.) The evening started with a few drinks at the VIP Soiree at Il Fornaio, and the good fortune of meeting and drinking with Jeremy LeLonde, the director of HOW TO PLAN AN ORGY IN A SMALL TOWN. That was already kinda the movie I wanted to see in the 7:00 time slot, but you know my rules, if someone else had drunk with me, I would've had to see their movie.
 
Anyway, HOW TO PLAN AN ORGY IN A SMALL TOWN is a funny, raunchy, Canadian comedy that certainly delivers on its premise, although it doesn't have quite as much nudity as the title would suggest (of course, the title suggest porn, so I don't know what I was thinking.) What it does have is a lot of laughs, and some surprisingly sympathetic characters. Years ago, Cassie Cranston had an awkward teenage experience that ended with her streaking through the small town of Beaver's Ridge. More than embarrassing her, it mortified her mother, a famous writer of wholesome, small town literature. So Cassie ran off to New York, and became a mildly famous sex columnist. And when her mother passes away, she returns home for the funeral, and to confront her old antagonists and their backwards, prudish, small-town ways. And wacky hijinx ensue. It might be pretentious to drop a name like David Lynch when talking about what is really a silly sex comedy, but the hidden kinkiness of small town life is certainly a bit reminiscent. But the angle I really loved is that big town cosmopolitanism perhaps isn't as adventurous as you'd think. Ultimately, for as nasty as it is (and it delves into varying aspects of sexual dysfunction) it is, literally, a loving movie. Also, it's got a pretty funny Holocaust joke in it.
 
HOW TO PLAN AN ORGY IN A SMALL TOWN plays again Saturday at 7:15 and Monday at 4:15. And if you like it, Jeremy promises his next movie, THE GO-GETTERS, will be even wilder. And you can donate and be a part of it.
 
Next up was the first show I've seen this year at Cinequest that was my own choice--not driven by drinking with a filmmaker. That would be Shorts 2: Transitions (or as the guy doing the introductions said, Ch-ch-ch-chaaaanges)
DAISY CHAIN: Narrated by Kate Winslet, little Buttercup Bree, through the power of sharing, changes bullies into friends.
FIG: An old man does whatever it takes to fulfill his bedridden wife's wish. She wants a fig, he'll battle the harsh forces of nature to get her one.
THE FORMULA: The power of the words "I would prefer not to" changes everything.
LEND A HAND FOR LOVE: Two horribly bashful neighbors are changed forever when their hands decide to make the moves they're afraid to.
MY BROTHER IS A ZOMBIE: It's so annoying to have a little brother who's different. But a good sister watches out for him anyway.
THE NIGHT THE MOON FELL: A beautiful computer animated film about a young boy's sense of wonder at the moon. With a heck of a twist.
PEOPLE ARE BECOMING CLOUDS: And that can put quite a strain on a relationship. So John and Eleanor see a marriage counselor/meteorologist for advice.
REVERSAL: A broken camcorder changes a father from a videographer to a proud parent.
RING AROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH: A stop-motion story of a prostitute and her badly burned client, and the sharing of old wounds. Very moving.
TOWED: A woman having the worst day of her life. She's newly homeless, and living in her car. But her car is in a tow-away zone and is out of gas. The tow truck driver can't tow her while she's in the car, but she can't stay there forever. And apparently he doesn't have much else to do today but watch for her to leave. A standoff with a surprising ending.
 
Shorts Program 2 plays again Saturday at noon and Monday at 2:15
 
Films I've added to my schedule through drinking with filmmakers:
MY FERAL HEART, Saturday at 7:15
THE MODERN PROJECT (although technically I only need to see the short, NORA: THROUGH THE YEARS) Sunday at 4:15
NIGHT SONG, Monday at 6:45
BUDDY SOLITAIRE, next Thursday at 5:00 (if I can escape from work early enough. Otherwise, I have a press screener.)
 
Total Running Time: 207 minutes
My Total Minutes: 421,083

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