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Baghead (2008)

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny Jab At Art House Films And Clichéd Indie Concepts, 25 January 2008

Author: sampotter25 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Ask any filmmaker why they attend film festivals, and they'll probably tell you that it stirs their creative spirits. Though they may abhor certain films, it instills in them confidence that they can do just as well or better than the film they saw. Such is the case of the four actors that drive "Baghead", a funny, genre-bending movie about stupid people with stupid ideas and even stupider actions.

Chad, Katherine, Matt and Michelle are all extras who attend the screening of a hilariously pretentious indie film. Determined they can make something twice as good, they decide to retreat to Matt's uncle's cabin in Big Bear for the weekend for an alcohol-soaked brainstorming session. Chad is tubby, balding and insecure, and is experiencing difficulty in making Michelle transition their relationship from friendly to romantic. Michelle has no interest in him beyond a brother-meets-best-friend hybrid, and really wants to hit the sheets with Matt. Matt, meanwhile, is on the verge of a mature, adult commitment with Katherine, whom he has dated intermittently for eleven years.

The four of them toss around a number of tepid plot ideas, but retire when nothing really substantial surfaces. That night, Michelle has a nightmare where she sees a man with a paper bag on his head snooping around the cabin at night. Matt soon parlays this into a ridiculously clichéd serial killer script concept, and sets off writing it. But when an actual "baghead" shows up and nobody confesses to playing any practical jokes, the film quickly turns into a satire of the same lame film these four have dreamt up.

The movie adeptly balances the comedy of the situation with the dramatic complexity that comes when friendships and lust collide. The performances are endearing and believable, with each character drawn distinct from the other: Chad is chubby, funny and sincere. Matt is classically attractive, spontaneous and a bit dim-witted, yet doesn't want to hurt his friend. Katherine is the grown-up who's partying days are over and is looking for a stable relationship. Michelle is the bubbly party girl with serious communication problems.

If there's anything that weakens this film, it's a few dead moments and the atrocious hand-held camera-work, which puzzlingly zoomed in and out with an ADD-like attention span. Still, the script and performances were fun and engrossing.

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8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Wheee!, 7 April 2008

Author: toniumhart from United States

I went into this (AFI) film festival with little or no knowledge of not only the film itself, but of any actors or the production and direction team. I was pleasantly surprised.

I must have laughed through 90 percent of the film. On what appears to have been a shoe-string budget at best, this film delivers characters who are rich (in a non-financial form), full and funny; and come across as people you know. Your best friend (or nemesis)a sister, brother. I also loved that, having grown up close to the Adirondanck Mountains in NY, I could completely imagine living the weekend that they did. What a fun ride. And using very little shock and awe of nudity, vulgarity or violence. (not that I am completely anti any of those in particular) A very nice treat. What a little sleeper-hit. Can this brother director/producer team be the next Cohen Brothers?

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Really boring...predictable. Good performance by Zissis and Muller, 24 June 2008

Author: imdb-5523 from United States

No, I wasn't expecting "IRON MAN" or "GET SMART", so put the hipster knives away, I don't need explosions or Megan Fox to enjoy a movie.

The movie starts interestingly enough, by mocking the indie film circuit "Q&A with the director". In what can, at best, be called a non-sequitur, they try to go to a club, only, moments later, to be at a Bennigan's like establishment where they decide to retreat to the mountains to write a script.

The overweight guy likes the cute girl, she likes him as a friend. The glossy lady think the girl is kind of boorish, and the cute girl thinks she's a bit over glossy. Mr. "TheMan" has sexual access to Ms. Glossy, but, unsurprisingly, the boorish girl has some desire for Mr. The Man, who will naturally feel contest between his desire to bang both the females and be loyal to his friend.

All of this is telegraphed within the first 5 minutes, and you kind of feel a bit of a No Exit vibe brewing, but with people who are slightly more familiar than strangers.

That notion goes nowhere and as they reach the cabin they proceed to fulfill that which has been already telegraphed in excruciatingly long, jittery-cam Mumblecore style.

I checked my email.

The curveball thrown into the mix is that the proposed script involves an anonymous slasher in the woods. As the movie trudges on, a bag-headed-slasher runs amok.

I think there's an element of "everyone in LA wants to be famous" lurking about in this movie somewhere, but it's too occulted by everything else to get through clearly.

Elise Muller does a great job being glossy the whole time through ( best touch, wearing her night-guard in the morning ) and Steve Zissis remains vulnerable and sweet throughout. I really liked Greta Gerwig in the SXSW spots she did 2 years ago, but I didn't see anything that wowed me. The other guy was pretty good too.

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2 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Spoiler alert: this movies is just meh, 27 April 2008

Author: princessmarya from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I appreciate the funny moments of this movies, but I thought they tied it up an a very unrealistic manner, which really clashes with the nice character studies they built up throughout the film. I don't believe that any unattractive "brother like" friend would suddenly become a possible love interest to a "party girl" because he was injured and further rendered pathetic. I don't believe any footage they shot was so awesome as to be "film festival worthy", unless the whole cabin was rigged with cameras, you're talking about 5 minutes of POV footage of people screaming and running. That would be a small clip from the blair witch project, a movie that came out a decade ago. These actors may be dumb, but are they really that dumb to think they struck art-house gold on that? If so Im glad I don't live in LA. And I don't know why baghead appeared twice before the actor made the call to the movie maker, and yet the question is never raised, who was the original baghead? The movie is a bit sloppy on plot points.

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6 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Very Good Film, 12 March 2008

Author: mattfly from Austin, Texas

Bag head was a very good movie. I got a chance to see this here in Austin during SXSW Friday night. It was quite an interesting night.

I received and email from a good friend and movie enthusiast telling me, to go see this movie Friday night at midnight. I asked him what movie it was he came back with, its a secret but trust me its not to be missed.

So, I trusted my friend and went to the Alamo Drafthouse and caught this flick. I must say, thank you to him. The movie was awesome.

The Characters in the movie were quite possibly the best part about the movie. The relationships they formed with each other were believable, which is what every movie should have. Each character could be related to in almost every decision they made and every emotion they felt.

They movie was ended with a Q and A where the directors and actors talked about the movie. It was very informative and they announced the movie was picked up by Sony Pictures and was slated for a June/July US release. I will def. see this one again.

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