So yesterday, I headed up to The Prince Charles Cinema, to see the London Premiere of the micro-budget flick, Electric Man. This was purely on a whim, hadn't seen a trailer beforehand, knew nothing about it, except that it a film that didn't exist yet on Rotten Tomatoes, and there was a director Q&A. It's not even attached to it's page on the side, because it doesn't have one. Seeing as there's such low publicity for the film, I'm writing a-Review-type-thing-but-also-just-a-plain-blog-right-here-on-screened.
First things first, the Trailer sells the film hella short. It makes it appear to be a badly over-acted, unfunny, low budget mistake with the world's slowest editing. So, um, on second thoughts, don't bother watching it. Unless you have already, in which case we'll continue regardless. IT IS NOT BAD, and it is funny. Also, no that is not Richard Hammond, but bloody heck he sounds like him.
The Premise is stupid, there's a comic that's valuable and money and something. It's not really important. The Characters are there, but the romantic subplots are just silly. The action is non-existent, because this was filmed for like 20p and a yoghurt cup. You will notice that I've been fairly consistently shitting on the movie, but I enjoyed it. I had a good time. I'd put it at 4 stars. And now I'll tell you why:
This film has a heart. As if when you rip off the sheen, CGI, polish and plot-by-marketing that dominates movies in this age, you see the bare soul of the film beneath. When you watch it, you can tell the fun and love that went into making it, regardless of how stupid it is. And when everyone involved in a production truly believes in the stupidity, you will too, and you get far more immersed in the world than any level of budget could make you.
Films like this need to continue to exist. Clerks was the last great truly low-budget feature, in terms of mainstream penetration, and that's a real shame. These movies should have a place in cinemas, movies that you leave thinking "I could do this, and I'm really glad they did," and have a right laugh whilst doing so. (It was, actually, really fucking funny). It just made me sad to think that stuff like this is a dying breed, the low budet film market is dying, replaced by 2 minute comedy youtube clips. And that's a crying shame.
So when this comes out on DVD, or if it's in your town (It'll be touring around the UK soon), then pop up and see it. Or just look up what low budet stuff is showing in your area and go down. Whereas seeing films in the cinema can be depressing, stuff like this reminds you films can be fun, and for everyone.
In Other News...
- I think this is my first blog for screened. GO ME!
- Speaking of doing it yourself; I just finished a 120 page screenplay. It's a first draft, and it's never going to be made, being it's a Sci-Fi thing, but it was a great experience to just write. I encourage all of you to do the same! Maybe when I've redrafted it I'll post it.
- KEEP SCREENED ALIVE.
