Colma: The Musical (2006)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Richard Wong

Writers:

H.P. Mendoza (screenplay)
H.P. Mendoza (story)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Musical

Plot:

In the town of Colma, just south of San Francisco, the dead outnumber the living one thousand to one...

Plot Keywords:

Teenager | Cemetery | Mall | Gay Interest | Play Within Film

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Jake Moreno	...	Billy
H.P. Mendoza	...	Rodel
L.A. Renigen	...	Maribel
Sigrid Sutter	...	Tara
Brian Raffi	...	Julio
Gigi Guizado	...	Kattia
Larry Soriano	...	Rodel's Father
Paul Kolsanoff	...	Kevin
Allison Torneros	...	Amanda
Paula Baldin	...	Young Girl
Jim Wierzba	...	Hulk Hogan
Kat Kneisel	...	Joanne
David Scott Keller	...	Michael
Dustin North	...	Colma Player / John / Bar Patron
Jeremiah Cothren	...	Colma Player / Bar Patron

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Colma, California, USA

Company:

Greenrocksolid

Goofs:

Continuity: During "Can We Get Any Older" in the party scene, Rodel walks past a man and immediately walks past him again.

Quotes:

Maribel: I don't know about you guys, but mama's gettin' laid tonight.
Billy: All the guys here have girlfriends.
Maribel: Good, it means they won't call me in the morning...

Soundtrack:

Deadwalking

Deeply, DEEPLY unimportant, but still fun!

OK, as a Bay Area resident (albeit a transplant) and indie film maven, I couldn't stay away from seeing this film. I'm considerably older than the characters and I didn't grow up in the Bay Area so I didn't relate to the story (or maybe it was just the mediocre acting, which was overshadowed by the excellent singing). Still, I thought this movie was a guilty pleasure, kinda like your favorite Mexican restaurant or greasy spoon--you know you shouldn't, but you're glad you did.

Part of what makes this film fun is its foray into camp. Some of the musical numbers were just too over the top. Billy's musical declaration of love for "Tara" would have been sweet were it not for the two guys in the background scaling the facades of the buildings and each other. The real topper is where Tara releases the band holding her hair back so the breeze'll catch it--except she's got short hair and it hardly works. It's hard to take this seriously, particularly when you realize that Billy and Tara first met at a party where Tara's operatic "Is someone in the bathroom?" is responded to by Billy's "I'm taking a sh!!!!!!!t." The camp factor is equally present in the songs we see during the performance of "Friend Joseph" (some sorta spin-off of "Pal Joey"?), a show in which Billy performs. It's just "quirky quirky quirky, so damn quirky, quirky quirky...."

I guess it's a bit of a cinematic love letter to the area--there's even a shot of Maribel reading a book nearly every San Franciscan will recognize. I was at a screening that was followed by a Q&A with the director and one of the cast--there's a sequel in the offing if this is well-received. For some reason, I can't wait to see it. :-)