"Oh that's great! SEEDS IN THE POPCICLES!!! No problem!"
As a long-time fan of this movie I can say without hesitation, that there is no other movie quite like High Strung. A comic tale centering around the ever paranoid character of Thane Furrows - a writer of children's books (of all things) he's also a pessimist to the extreme and comes across as a very "edgy" person who has many, many, phobias - basically he loves to complain, a lot.
The movie has a very small cast of only about 10 people, most of which have only a scene a piece and it takes place almost entirely in one location, Thane's rather size-able loft apartment.
The film sports a brief role by a pre-Ace Ventura Jim Carrey, a friend of Oedekerk's (note: it was Oedekerk who directed the second Ace Ventura film). Jim Carrey is "Death" in this movie, or worded another way, the grim reaper and he arrives in a limousine. Oh and "Biff" from Back To The Future shows up a couple times too.
The script is superb throughout, the acting is consistently good (especially Steve Oedekerk's). Though the film is highly limited in a visual sense, the camera work manages to bring to life the interior of the apartment, in a fairly artsy and immersive way; by way of numerous pans (several 360 degree swiveling pans) and a few odd angles, such as when representing a fly's point-of-view or later Thane's out-of-body experience.
Throughout the film Thane's favorite hobby frequently manifests itself in the form of an endless stream of observations and complaints; AND he complains about just about anything... and everything. A series of pop-in visits (much to Thane's chagrin) and persistent phone-calls are used to break-up his habitually paranoid ramblings and serve to balance things out. It can't just be Thane ranting all the time - though I wouldn't mind if it was. In the meantime he seems to do little else other than eat cereal and write eccentrically-themed childrens books. He's essentially a shut-in and his personality is molded by his many phobias and foibles and with that being the case it's one gripe and grievance after another. Throughout the movie take notice of Steve Oedekerk's numerous facial expressions, they seem to span the entire emotional spectrum. That's just another reason why this film is so effective in it's delivery and that's especially the case when he's talking directly to the camera, in which he has a definite knack for creating some exceptionally effective comedic sequences.
So if you're fond of the biting, pessimistic humor of GEORGE CARLIN (particularly his complaining routines) or Jerry Seinfeld's observational humor that focuses on modern life and it's many foibles and faux-pas. Well than HIGH STRUNG is a movie you should definitely check out.
HIGH STRUNG has maintained its oddly neglected and under-appreciated "cult" status over the years AND as of April 2016, no legit DVD or Blu-ray release exists. Which means that you'll be watching either a VHS tape or a digitized VHS tape-rip, so take your pick between those two less-than-optimal choices.
Most definitely an unheralded comedic classic. Naysayer's be damned!
As a long-time fan of this movie I can say without hesitation, that there is no other movie quite like High Strung. A comic tale centering around the ever paranoid character of Thane Furrows - a writer of children's books (of all things) he's also a pessimist to the extreme and comes across as a very "edgy" person who has many, many, phobias - basically he loves to complain, a lot.
The movie has a very small cast of only about 10 people, most of which have only a scene a piece and it takes place almost entirely in one location, Thane's rather size-able loft apartment.
The film sports a brief role by a pre-Ace Ventura Jim Carrey, a friend of Oedekerk's (note: it was Oedekerk who directed the second Ace Ventura film). Jim Carrey is "Death" in this movie, or worded another way, the grim reaper and he arrives in a limousine. Oh and "Biff" from Back To The Future shows up a couple times too.
The script is superb throughout, the acting is consistently good (especially Steve Oedekerk's). Though the film is highly limited in a visual sense, the camera work manages to bring to life the interior of the apartment, in a fairly artsy and immersive way; by way of numerous pans (several 360 degree swiveling pans) and a few odd angles, such as when representing a fly's point-of-view or later Thane's out-of-body experience.
Throughout the film Thane's favorite hobby frequently manifests itself in the form of an endless stream of observations and complaints; AND he complains about just about anything... and everything. A series of pop-in visits (much to Thane's chagrin) and persistent phone-calls are used to break-up his habitually paranoid ramblings and serve to balance things out. It can't just be Thane ranting all the time - though I wouldn't mind if it was. In the meantime he seems to do little else other than eat cereal and write eccentrically-themed childrens books. He's essentially a shut-in and his personality is molded by his many phobias and foibles and with that being the case it's one gripe and grievance after another. Throughout the movie take notice of Steve Oedekerk's numerous facial expressions, they seem to span the entire emotional spectrum. That's just another reason why this film is so effective in it's delivery and that's especially the case when he's talking directly to the camera, in which he has a definite knack for creating some exceptionally effective comedic sequences.
So if you're fond of the biting, pessimistic humor of GEORGE CARLIN (particularly his complaining routines) or Jerry Seinfeld's observational humor that focuses on modern life and it's many foibles and faux-pas. Well than HIGH STRUNG is a movie you should definitely check out.
HIGH STRUNG has maintained its oddly neglected and under-appreciated "cult" status over the years AND as of April 2016, no legit DVD or Blu-ray release exists. Which means that you'll be watching either a VHS tape or a digitized VHS tape-rip, so take your pick between those two less-than-optimal choices.
Most definitely an unheralded comedic classic. Naysayer's be damned!