Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Jake Head | ... | Ralph's Dad | |
![]() |
Christopher Marble | ... | Priest |
![]() |
Christian Drerup | ... | Ralph's Mom |
Mason McNulty | ... | Ralph | |
Roy Abramsohn | ... | Gavin Johnson | |
Helen Kennedy | ... | Bree Jones (as Helen Kennedy Turner) | |
Amos Vernon | ... | New Zack | |
William Frederick Knight | ... | Kindly the Cowboy | |
Lucas Jaye | ... | Kiddo | |
![]() |
Deborah Sale Butler | ... | Radio DJ / Infomercial Annoucer (as Deborah Sale-Buttler) |
Rahm Braslaw | ... | Josh | |
Kerri Kenney | ... | Joan | |
Mark Proksch | ... | Teddy | |
![]() |
Jelena Williams | ... | Skeet Woman |
Thomas Lennon | ... | Tony V |
12-year-old budding home video director Ralph begins accidentally taping over his parents' VHS wedding tape. As he overwrites the magnetic echoes of their pre-Ralph past, he commemorates his love affair with the format by using the versatile tape to make new memories of himself with his parents while also employing it to tape eccentric pioneers of late-night cable television. Shot entirely on VHS. Written by Mae Moreno
I can't really call this a movie, in the common sense. Sure you'll see some semi-recognizable faces who have held smaller parts across many comedy shows and movies, most notably a few cast members from Reno 911, but there is not a straight forward narrative here. Instead we have more of an anthology of faux-public access and infomercial skits (think Tim & Eric Awesome Show) specifically created and filmed deliberately in amateur style under the pretense that a young boy recorded these bits of cheesy TV over a VHS tape that was originally once reserved for his parents' 1987 wedding footage. You'll see classic clips of horribly acted 80's porn (the story scenes), exaggerated jazzercize infomercials, the blue vertically scrolling preview channel, absurd advertisements, boring public access programs about rock bands and conspiracies, knock-off Antiques Roadshow and HSN bits, and peppered in between all of this you have quick shots of the kid's parents' wedding video and times where him and his friend were messing with the camcorder during sleepovers. Everything is pretty convincing here and as an 80s/90s kid myself, I appreciate the authenticity. This is a love letter to a certain kind of person, of a certain age, with a certain sense of humor. If you get it, you really get it. If you don't, then you just weren't the target audience. This film is like one endless inside-joke, and it's absolutely brilliant for what it is.