Dallas 362

Saw the premiere of this film at the CineVegas Film Festival. It was written, directed, and co-stars Scott Caan. Its the stylishly shot, very well written story of two friends in their mid-20's who are aimlessly drinking and bar brawling their time away. One of them, Rusty (Shawn Hatosy) is beginning to recognise the futility of their lifestyle while Dallas (Caan's character) seems to be headed only deeper into trouble. Rusty has support from his mother (played by Kelly Lynch) and a therapist (well done by Jeff Goldblum). Mom and the therapist are romantically involved adding a funny and bizarre twist to the story. No spoilers here - this is all revealed in the first reel. This film stands out because of the writing and the acting. Caan's semi-autobiographical screenplay is laced with lines that made the audience laugh out loud - dialogue original enough that it seems to come from real life, not a Hollywood script factory. There are a few scenes intended to 'reveal' character that drag a bit. The fine cast is capable of doing with less, not more writing. Caan told the screening audience that he wrote the movie in about a month - yet it seems to be one of those first screenplays that was years in the making. Either way, it led to a film that's far better than 90% of the stuff now showing at your local mutiplex. It deserves to be picked up for theatrical distribution followed by a long run on one of the premium movies channels. Please, Hollywood: More of this and less of 2 Fast 2 Dumberer.