Box Elder (2008)

Box elder bugs are loud, scary looking, and dependent on group swarming. Yet, they're also completely harmless and extremely passive aggressive. Using this metaphor to address a generation ... See full summary »

Director:

Todd Sklar

Writer:

Todd Sklar

Stars:

Hina Abdullah, Kyle Ayers, Andy Cohen

Cast

Credited cast:
Hina Abdullah	...	Laura Glaser
Kyle Ayers	...	Phil Ryerson
Andy Cohen	...	Jason Franks
David Crespy	...	Dudley Ginsberg
Chad Haas	...	Brad Fletcher
Chris Nester	...	Frank Brouillette
James Ponsoldt	...	Robby 'Couv' McGovern
Nick Renkoski	...	Nick Becker
Alex Rennie	...	Alex Rennie
Amy Shaw	...	Sarah Sampsons
Jim Shipley	...	Annoying Guy
Jeff Sklar	...	That Guy
Todd Sklar	...	John Scott
Brian Sturgill	...	Matt Vaggey
Ross Taylor	...	Max Hennessey

Storyline

Box elder bugs are loud, scary looking, and dependent on group swarming. Yet, they're also completely harmless and extremely passive aggressive. Using this metaphor to address a generation that thinks big, talks fast, and threatens to change the world, Box Elder is an unapologetic portrait of a youth movement at odds with its own ambivalence, exposing a generation defined by privilege, potential, and self-induced paralysis. The film follows four best friends through their last years of college. Dependant on their parents financially, and on each other emotionally, they spend their time sleeping in, hanging out, and eating lots of sandwiches. Using break-ups and re-occurring scholastic failures to impose a quarter-life crisis, they take turns postponing responsibility, avoiding accountability, and looking for someone or something to substantiate their lives, all the while hedging their bets and mastering the art of treading water and getting away with it. It's a collegiate love letter.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | college | twenty something | semi autobiographical | irreverence | 

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Taglines:

The great American bromance.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Facebook MySpace

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Columbia, Missouri, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boxcar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sklar prefers to spell the word "sandwich" like this: sandwhiche. The word is written that way in the entire script, as well as the trailer for the film. He also pronounces it like he spells it.

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Goofs

When the undercover cop is busting the kid at the Halloween party, you see his gun duct taped to his shirt on his back. Then in the immediate next shot the orientation and position of the gun is totally different.

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Crazy Credits

Many of the names in the credits are fake pseudonyms for jobs that either writer/director Todd Sklar did himself, or jobs that were done by some of the actors. They chose to credit fake names to make the film and it's production seem more fleshed out.

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Connections

References Vanilla Sky (2001)

User Reviews

Saw this flick when it was touring around the mid-west - am very glad I went

The guy that is heading up this tour, this is a film he made, when he was in college, for less than 70 grand. It's really honest, kind of like a Kicking and Screaming for the mumble-core generation. but A LOT funnier. As funny as Swingers, and close content-wise too. Like Swingers in college sort of. While the film definitely has it's ups and downs, the real reason to see it is for a performance by someone who I can easily see being the next Bill Murray. This actor's name is Alexander Rennie, and mark my words, this guy is the real deal.

The film has a ton of improv in it, and he is just so quick and deadpan and pretty much steals the show. There's this one scene at a Halloween party where he's so drunk he starts drinking a lit candle - it's absolutely hilarious.

All in all, it's a simple college take of four guy friends, going through their senior year, and trying to figure out what to do with their lives. It's not super dramatic or super sappy, but really just an honest portrait of the director and his real life friends. If you're a fan of films like Funny Ha Ha or Hannah Takes The Stairs, it's well worth checking out. This is way funnier than those films though.