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| Lots of Laughs at the Sedona Film Festival |
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| Written by Ron Hammer | |
| Sunday, 09 March 2008 | |
Sean William Scott as a substitute teacher in Trainwreck: My Life as an IdoitMy personal experience with Dot.com is what a film festival is all about. We arrived in Sedona and quickly acquired our passes and picked out some movies to see. The film that I had chosen at 9:10 am was full, so I decided to go to this film. I walked in just before it started with only a slight idea of what I was about to see and it was the most pleasant surprise of the weekend. I found this to be a charming comedy about a village's battle with a multinational company and the Portuguese government over their domain name. It isn't necessary to have much knowledge about the internet and domain names to enjoy this film. When I explained the movie to some friends, I immediately told them not to worry about the intricacies of international law and trademark infringement that form the device that launches the movie's plot. Why? Because this is a movie about people and it is filled with a cast of wonderful characters. No one is just a plot device. From top to bottom the characters are interesting, quirky and just fun to watch interacting with each other. I highly recommend this film. My only complaint was that at times the subtitles were a bit difficult to read against various backgrounds. This cast of unknown (to most American filmgoers) actors and actresses form a wonderful ensemble that makes this little sleepy village in the middle of nowhere come alive. Classic plot developments like mistaken identities and misunderstood motives are as old as Shakespeare, but they don't seem cliché in this comic tale by Suzanne Nagle (who wrote the screenplay). There may be some elements of the story that could have been smoothed out, but for the most part director Luís Galvão Teleshas managed to keep the a band of unique characters at the forefront of this truly enjoyable film! 
The Fly Boys (aka Sky Kids), not to by confused by the similar titled movie Flyboys about WWI pilots, was the Audience Choice winner for Best Feature, and it feels like a much more mainstream movie than Dot.com, but it shares many of the same important features. This is a movie about the friendship between two young kids, Kyle & Jason, who find themselves on the outside looking in at their school. But this quickly changes when the two of them become friends after Kyle, the newcomer at school, rescues Jason from the class bully. What ensues is one of the best chase scenes of cars and bmx bikes that you've ever seen. Ok, maybe the only chase scene of cars and bmx bikes you've ever seen. It ends with one of those moments that makes it clear that these two are destined to do some great things together.Beneath the action, comedy and mishaps, is a story of how each boy becomes a better young man because of this friendship. There is an incredible moment near the end of the film between Jason and his WWII fighter pilot grandfather that encapsulates all that is good about this film. It is moments like this and when Kyle challenges Jason about not abandoning him when things get tough that make this film rise above the ordinary kid-caper movie. Director Rocco DeVilliers had the courage to make this a film that was about something, not just an entertaining film. He succeeds on both levels. The unfortunate thing about a film festival is how many good films have trouble getting distributed and this is one such case. The filmmakers are currently attempting to distribute this film themselves and I am hopeful that they find some level of success in getting their film to the public. In addition to the two boys, excellent performances are given by Stephen Baldwin (the least known of the Baldwin brothers), Tom Sizemore (best known for his role as Sergeant Mike Horvath in Saving Private Ryan) and Jennifer Slimko. In complete contrast to these two heartwarming films, is the dark comic film by director Tod Harrison Williams, Trainwreck: My Life as an Idoit. (Note: the film's title is supposed to have Idiot misspelled, but as you can see even the movie poster couldn't quite bring itself to not give in and correct the spelling! IMDb at least got it right.) This film stars well known actor Sean William Scott (Mr. Woodcock, American Pie, Bulletproof Monk) in a film loosely based on the life of comedian Jeff Nichols and his book The Little Yellow Bus: A Special Education Memoir . You can get a feel for what this movie is like from the stock description of Jeff in the movie's description: a self-induced attention-deficit disordered, learning disabled, Tourette's syndrome suffering, balance impaired, ex-alcoholic young man from the Upper East Side of Manhattan. 
At first this may not sound like the description of a very funny movie and at times it becomes somewhat dark and sad. But overall, Williams and Scott have struck just the right balance between pathetic and comic in this thought-provoking comedy. The movie uses Nichol's constant attendance at sharing sessions of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to form the structure of the movie. The only thing Nichol's has ever been successful at is being an former-alcoholic - he hasn't taken a drink in 10 years. But, sobriety isn't enough, and we follow him through one mishap and failure-ridden fantasy after another until we wonder if this man who still refers to his mother as "mommy" will ever grow up and make it in life. In an excellent question and answer time following the movie, the director along with Nichols, interacted with the audience. A highlight of this time was when Nichols introduced the stepfather whose house he accidentally burned down in one of the film's most poignant moments. It seemed the audience wasn't quite sure whether to see this film as the comedy it is intended to be, or whether it should be viewed as a serious analysis of learning disabled people. Many of the questions seemed pointed in the latter direction causing Director Tod Williams to ask, "Did you find the movie funny?" In my opinion, Trainwreck is a very funny movie, but one that has its moments of insight. Personally I have never been much of a fan of Sean William Scott's movies or his acting. But I was pleasantly surprised by him in this film. He makes you root for this guy who is completely self-absorbed and makes him charming and likable. Equally engaging and, in a different way, pathetic, is Gretchen Mol's portrayal of Lynn. Mol, who recently gave a tremendous performance as Alice Evans in 3:10 to Yuma, is wonderful as the "kept woman" who becomes involved with Nichols and tries to help him get his life together. If it ever makes it to a screen near you, give it a try.
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