A beautifully shot, hilarious, outside the box but thoughtful dramedy with superb acting. I attended the premiere of The Problem Y, an indie film that blends art with elements of mainstream cinema, completely catching you off guard. I arrived not knowing what to expect, soon realizing I not only empathized with the separate struggles of 3 old high school friends but I was also laughing within a few minutes.
As the viewer following the journey of 3 old friends on a road trip to their (20 year?) high school reunion at the initiation of Thomas (Dave Casella) who's still stuck on the girl that crushed him with stagnancy, there's an immediate likeness for this character in his quirky unsure behavior, his naivety, and loyalty that makes you, the viewer, want to pull for him to not change but learn to hold his own. Which little by little he learns even intercepting a potentially life ending inner debate after his own inner debate to simply knock on the door of his old pal Darrell (Damien D. Smith) who's living the life not quite as expected due to personal circumstances many can relate to, as at some point someone comes along just ripping our hearts out and takes everything we have with it; whether monetarily, physically, emotionally,or mentally. We've all known someone who takes everything from us and doesn't even blink an eye. Having no where to go but up, Darrell agrees to go find their friend Jimmy (Matthew Teardrop) whose life is literally in the dumps; dragging him out for their journey. A journey to nowhere that leads them to enough salvation to hold on long enough to rediscover each other and give thought to where they should each go from there without compromising what makes them, them.
There's great acting in this stylized film. Dave Casella's fantastic and endearing as Thomas reminding me of a Steve Carrell type with the typecast that may not be typical leading man material but as Carrell can tell you, there's a niche. I enjoyed the subtly and innocence of his acting. One instance, in the beginning as Thomas drives to Darrell's neurotically living within his own head talking himself in and out of the situation as another car flies by too closely, Casella flinches simply muttering "woah..."ruining my fantasies" slipping back into his own head.
Damien D. Smith puts in some truly impressive scenes ranging from vulnerability to rage to the words we wish we never said to begin with. Smith allowed his character to be confused, be stupid, be beaten down, and most importantly to evolve and question his next move like a game of chess. Which is the real checkmate?
While Matthew Teardrop puts in a respectable yet ridiculous performance of a boozed up, glue huffing,homeless musician that really doesn't need anything else in life but his guitar and his whiskey, and now, his friends. Teardrop has a couple scene stealing moments and being a member of the band Manhattan Murder Mystery even puts on a 70sesque performance or two with his guitar in hand.
Casella, Smith, and Teardrop all deliver on their performances memorably and solid, as well as the fourth largest role outside the 3 guys and largest female role, Meghan Keeler, as Cassie, literally a girl on the side of the road. Who trod the fine line mix to Thomas of understated dead pan, awkwardness, and naïve manipulation that in the art of attemptive semi-seduction isn't really very naïve at all with a drop of an "oh well", shrug off, don't say I didn't offer departure. Something in the way Keeler delivers her lines I found to be pretty darn brilliant, all while in yoga pants at that and if I can be so bold as to say with a body like that she should live and breathe in yoga pants. Much of the cast attended the premiere including Keeler who as beautiful as her photos on here are is stunning in person, piercing even and when a girl like that says she'd like to kiss you, even a blind gay man wouldn't turn her down, in character or not. I'm looking at you Thomas.
Another notable would be Graham Mackie as The Mirror of the Universe, that's right The Mirror of the Universe, now you must be dying to know what's up with that. While I wouldn't say his performance was stellar, it got the job done. Not to mention having a character face of all character faces and I couldn't think of a better face for The Mirror of the Universe. It's the entire universe after all.
This is a film that puts the indie in independent. Not because it's not a Warner Brother's superstorm film but because it's original, has personality, and concentrates on making something interesting, artistic, well done, well acted, and all around entertaining. Even the dog's fantastic. I enjoyed watching this film and enjoyed meeting the cast and crew whom were all friendly and welcoming. Having enjoyable one on one conversations with many such as Casella, what a great guy: open, friendly, one in a million; Smith, a hip NYC theatre type with energy to spare; Keeler, an incredibly nice, eloquent, and sophisticated woman whose intelligence is worth wading through the interchanging men crowding her to buy her a declined drink, handing her their cards, offering to take her to Laker games. If you can get in there, she's a smart cookie; as well as many crew who spoke so passionately about their crafts. These people are the real deal and the film is worth a watch. Joseph Benjamin Miller did a great job balancing art with cinema, keeping it going with interesting perspectives even when a couple desert scenes felt just a tad too long.
Independent cinema needs more fresh unique perspectives. As a part-time/freelance writer for the LA Weekly and other publications/blogs I'll propose highlighting this film supporting filmmakers with unique creativity.
As the viewer following the journey of 3 old friends on a road trip to their (20 year?) high school reunion at the initiation of Thomas (Dave Casella) who's still stuck on the girl that crushed him with stagnancy, there's an immediate likeness for this character in his quirky unsure behavior, his naivety, and loyalty that makes you, the viewer, want to pull for him to not change but learn to hold his own. Which little by little he learns even intercepting a potentially life ending inner debate after his own inner debate to simply knock on the door of his old pal Darrell (Damien D. Smith) who's living the life not quite as expected due to personal circumstances many can relate to, as at some point someone comes along just ripping our hearts out and takes everything we have with it; whether monetarily, physically, emotionally,or mentally. We've all known someone who takes everything from us and doesn't even blink an eye. Having no where to go but up, Darrell agrees to go find their friend Jimmy (Matthew Teardrop) whose life is literally in the dumps; dragging him out for their journey. A journey to nowhere that leads them to enough salvation to hold on long enough to rediscover each other and give thought to where they should each go from there without compromising what makes them, them.
There's great acting in this stylized film. Dave Casella's fantastic and endearing as Thomas reminding me of a Steve Carrell type with the typecast that may not be typical leading man material but as Carrell can tell you, there's a niche. I enjoyed the subtly and innocence of his acting. One instance, in the beginning as Thomas drives to Darrell's neurotically living within his own head talking himself in and out of the situation as another car flies by too closely, Casella flinches simply muttering "woah..."ruining my fantasies" slipping back into his own head.
Damien D. Smith puts in some truly impressive scenes ranging from vulnerability to rage to the words we wish we never said to begin with. Smith allowed his character to be confused, be stupid, be beaten down, and most importantly to evolve and question his next move like a game of chess. Which is the real checkmate?
While Matthew Teardrop puts in a respectable yet ridiculous performance of a boozed up, glue huffing,homeless musician that really doesn't need anything else in life but his guitar and his whiskey, and now, his friends. Teardrop has a couple scene stealing moments and being a member of the band Manhattan Murder Mystery even puts on a 70sesque performance or two with his guitar in hand.
Casella, Smith, and Teardrop all deliver on their performances memorably and solid, as well as the fourth largest role outside the 3 guys and largest female role, Meghan Keeler, as Cassie, literally a girl on the side of the road. Who trod the fine line mix to Thomas of understated dead pan, awkwardness, and naïve manipulation that in the art of attemptive semi-seduction isn't really very naïve at all with a drop of an "oh well", shrug off, don't say I didn't offer departure. Something in the way Keeler delivers her lines I found to be pretty darn brilliant, all while in yoga pants at that and if I can be so bold as to say with a body like that she should live and breathe in yoga pants. Much of the cast attended the premiere including Keeler who as beautiful as her photos on here are is stunning in person, piercing even and when a girl like that says she'd like to kiss you, even a blind gay man wouldn't turn her down, in character or not. I'm looking at you Thomas.
Another notable would be Graham Mackie as The Mirror of the Universe, that's right The Mirror of the Universe, now you must be dying to know what's up with that. While I wouldn't say his performance was stellar, it got the job done. Not to mention having a character face of all character faces and I couldn't think of a better face for The Mirror of the Universe. It's the entire universe after all.
This is a film that puts the indie in independent. Not because it's not a Warner Brother's superstorm film but because it's original, has personality, and concentrates on making something interesting, artistic, well done, well acted, and all around entertaining. Even the dog's fantastic. I enjoyed watching this film and enjoyed meeting the cast and crew whom were all friendly and welcoming. Having enjoyable one on one conversations with many such as Casella, what a great guy: open, friendly, one in a million; Smith, a hip NYC theatre type with energy to spare; Keeler, an incredibly nice, eloquent, and sophisticated woman whose intelligence is worth wading through the interchanging men crowding her to buy her a declined drink, handing her their cards, offering to take her to Laker games. If you can get in there, she's a smart cookie; as well as many crew who spoke so passionately about their crafts. These people are the real deal and the film is worth a watch. Joseph Benjamin Miller did a great job balancing art with cinema, keeping it going with interesting perspectives even when a couple desert scenes felt just a tad too long.
Independent cinema needs more fresh unique perspectives. As a part-time/freelance writer for the LA Weekly and other publications/blogs I'll propose highlighting this film supporting filmmakers with unique creativity.
