Pencopal's Film Festival Diary for Thursday, April 19

Films: Broken English, American Fork, Viva

Future screenings: No future screenings of any of the above films are scheduled

Broken English
Full disclosure: I am a sucker for Parker Posey. There's something about her impish grin and the social ineptitude of her characters that makes me heart everything she's in. So I was psyched to see her in this Zoe Cassavetes film about Nora, an anxiety-riddled 30-ish hotel guest relations expert who has horrible luck with men, until a sexy Parisian comes along and rocks her world. Posey is equal parts funny and vulnerable, and it was great to see her in a role that showed off her acting chops. French actor Melvil Poupaud totally kills it as Julian. He inhabits the role well, oozing that French je ne sais quoi, and it doesn't hurt that the dude is hot. Like "we would've been fine with his scenes if he'd just read the phone book" hot.

John Cassavetes fans will be happy to know, like father, like daughter. A little bit of Gena Rowlands, a lot about the human condition. The characters are totally relatable, as are their struggles. Illuminated on the screen are issues such as troubled marriages, self-acceptance, coping with anxiety, the fear of being alone, and the cruelty of dating. When this one gets its wide release, we suggest seeing it.
Festival rating: Between Good and Very Good

American Fork
A funny thing happened before I got to the theatre. I was reading a label on a bottle, and I noticed that the contents were made in American Fork, Utah. I thought it was totally weird because I was planning to see a movie of the same name later that evening. I took it as a sign that the movie would rule, or at least something interesting would happen that night.

Unfortunately, the movie didn't rule. Oddly enough, what I thought would be a quirky story about an oddball struggling to find his place in the world turned out to be the story of a compulsive overeater who gets used or shit on by almost everyone he knows. Though words like "hopeful" and "dork comedy" cropped up in the movie synopsis, I found the film mildly depressing, and less dork, more pork. Dude eats until food is falling out of his mouth, and watching that self-hating behavior was not fun. The saving grace is William Baldwin, in a truly funny turn as a has-been acting coach famous for a three-episode story arch on JAG.
Festival rating: a step down from Good

The interesting thing that happened was that I got my days wrong and the movie I was seeing next wasn't playing. Luckily I ran into Editor Jill, so we got some candy to nosh on while standing in line for the next movie and talking trash about boys.

Viva
Writer and director Anna Biller is on some serious shit. I don't know what it is, or where she got it, but all I can say is, I'll have what she's having. Biller's Viva is campy, funny, sexy, and retro. The color palette makes the film look like it was shot on the same set as The Brady Bunch. As did the campy yet creepy movie star laughter all of the characters are sporting. It's like a canned laugh that's happening in real time.

Viva is the story of a housewife who decides to explore her sexuality by getting down with nudists, artists, orgies, madams, lesbians, and hairdressers. There are drugs, there are bikinis, there are forced sex scenes, and there are picture perfect outfits all tied up together into this crazy little movie.

At times I wasn't quite sure what Biller was trying to say. And then I got over myself and decided to just let a comedy be a comedy. I stopped counting images of misogynistic treatment of women and focused more on the hilarious one-liners and deadpan performances of the actors. Sometimes, you just have to let yourself laugh.
Festival rating: Very Good