I came upon this movie quite by accident and a happy accident it was. Although it has all the elements of a run-of-the-mill "on the road" story about down-on-their-luck characters searching for themselves, there is a lot more to this movie, especially given that it's a first one for writer/director Jeff Grace.
As with all such "on the road" genre pieces, this movie is all about the journey, and not the destination - alas, it would have been nice for the director to have worked out the destination with the same subtle ingenuity as he did the journey. Still, it does have hilariously funny bits, especially if one is a fan of Alex Karpovsky's comedic niche (who himself has a couple of indie comedies under his belt). The oddly put together scenes do somehow work; packed with embarassing and socially awkward yet endearing situations, they make the viewer feel genuinely connected to the characters. The individual struggles of the characters are very relatable (especially for the 'Gen X' crowd) and well thought through: the impossible to settle down and commit rock star; the former coat-check girl with a flair for country rock, dealing with her own insecurities; the struggling stand-up comedian set on pursuing his dream while still working on the right way to approach and impress the ladies - the department his friend "folk hero" has no problem in. In spite of all this, "funny guy" still manages to be the unassuming hero of the story. But, will he get the girl in the end?
As with all such "on the road" genre pieces, this movie is all about the journey, and not the destination - alas, it would have been nice for the director to have worked out the destination with the same subtle ingenuity as he did the journey. Still, it does have hilariously funny bits, especially if one is a fan of Alex Karpovsky's comedic niche (who himself has a couple of indie comedies under his belt). The oddly put together scenes do somehow work; packed with embarassing and socially awkward yet endearing situations, they make the viewer feel genuinely connected to the characters. The individual struggles of the characters are very relatable (especially for the 'Gen X' crowd) and well thought through: the impossible to settle down and commit rock star; the former coat-check girl with a flair for country rock, dealing with her own insecurities; the struggling stand-up comedian set on pursuing his dream while still working on the right way to approach and impress the ladies - the department his friend "folk hero" has no problem in. In spite of all this, "funny guy" still manages to be the unassuming hero of the story. But, will he get the girl in the end?