LAFF 2008: Day 9
Baghead: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I took some time out to catch a few new theatrical releases on Friday night so there’s only one movie from LAFF to report on.
How do you describe Mark and Jay (The Puffy Chair) Duplass’ Baghead. Is it a horror movie? Is it a comedy? Is it another entry in the American indie movement known as mumblecore? Yes to all of the above.
Applying the indie aesthetic of bare bones DIY production, dialogue-centric storytelling and naturalistic performances to a comedy about a group of young actors who are starting to feel the desperation of their window of opportunity slip away, set it in a cabin in the woods of the kind favored by masked, knife wielding stalkers, and you have the Baghead hybrid.
Ross Partridge, Steve Zissis, Greta Gerwig and Elise Muller play Matt, Chad, Michelle and Catherine, four 20-something friends who decide to kick-start their stalled acting careers by spending a weekend out by the lake brainstorming and writing their own star vehicle. Matt is the focused one. Catherine is his on-again-off-again (right now it’s off, but she wants it to be on) girlfriend. Chad is the shlubby wingman who is attracted to cute but dim Michelle who in turn wants to sleep with Matt. Add some alcohol and it’s a recipe for home baked disaster.
The first sign of trouble is a dream Michelle has about a stalker with a bag over his head. As the friend’s competing agendas begin to manifest themselves and the group dynamic begins to break down, the imagined baghead seems to become a reality. Is one of them playing a jealous prank or is there really a psycho in the woods? If it’s the latter, will they survive to make a movie about it?
Though the horror tropes are used to exaggerate the friends’ inherent fears and paranoia, they never reach a pitch much beyond a typical Scooby-Doo episode. The emphasis here is definitely more on comedy than either horror or drama and for that Baghead is largely a success. From the knowing winks at the indie and festival scene to the amusing take on interpersonal relationships and the creative process, Baghead tickles just enough to disguise some of its sharper, more acerbic edges. On the whole, it’s a winner.
Baghead has already been released in Austin and it will be coming to New York and Los Angeles on July 25. (Summer Previews)
Filed under: Film Festivals
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That’s quite a still you provide there Craig! So we have another slasher flick here, though one with attitude, the way you describe it. But your final judgement, where you laud the comedic elements would seem to make this one to at least check out on its July 25th opening.
Look forward to your non-festival weekend roundup as well.
I wish young filmmakers were more interested in making films on subjects beyond ‘what it’s like to be a young filmmaker’.
Another good breakdown there, Craig.
alexander i’ll get whatever to work for me some day so i can comment on your page….
and lord or whomever things have been work before but as of now…and maybe from now on….baghead and the wackiness are svhuduled to start the same day ‘in my area’ what am i to do ???
Jeff, there’s an insular quality to something like Baghead, but it’s not to much of a stretch to universalize the sentinment. It’s not just a group of actors wanting to find their way in the world, it’s a group of 20-somethings and the ideas apply to anyone who isn’t quite sure what to make of themselves or how.
Ha, I hope you’re able to do that soon, glimmer. You’re very welcome at CCC.