Recently I saw DRAWING FLIES, one of them there View Askew produced flicks, and ya know.... though it be far from perfect, I had a lot of fun with it.
It’s a low budget film that has quite a few moments, and with the exception of a couple of pretty annoying actresses, succeeds where I wasn’t sure it would.
I am a fan of what Kevin Smith has been doing over at the ‘View Askew’ empire. It’s obvious that he has friends that he keeps in the mix by financing their little projects. And ya know....
It kinda reminds me of what me and all my friends kind of talk about doing, but have never gotten off our asses to do.
I mean... He has a bunch of actors in this film that are ‘View Askew Regulars’ and they’re all having fun with their respective characters. And it’s that energy and familiarity that I really enjoy in the film.
Sure there are pop culture references, but that’s not really at the heart of what’s going on in this film. What I really enjoy is the basic concept at the base of the film.
A bunch of friends have pretty much fucked up for the last time. They can’t pay rent, they can’t throw a party.... They’ve slacked as far as they can slack, and it’s time to get off their asses and do something. Anything... Because... well if they stick around here... They’ll be evicted.
There’s something beautiful at that level. I mean... they’ve been living on unemployment so long that they can’t get it anymore. So... One of them, (Jason Mewes) decides to take everyone out on an adventure into the wilderness.
Sure he’s got a bizarre and insane quest that is the subtext to it all, but the point is.... They get down to the basics. While out there.... They each begin to change just a bit. It’s an experience that lets them all focus a bit.
Something that I think we all go through at one point or another... and most of us don’t need to go out into the wilderness to find ourselves... but some of us do.
Hell... This whole wacky Line Camping thing we’ve just gone through for STAR WARS is a point of issue in a way. Why did.... Lots and lots of fanboys and fangirls go hop in a tent or a sleeping bag outside a theater near you to see a movie that they wouldn’t have to wait an hour to see 4 days later?
Well... I believe, that for me at least, it was to get centered again.
It’s easy in life to just get off track. And for me, I wanted to get back on my registration marks, just in time for THE PHANTOM MENACE.
Waking up to see Bucky already started on a 6 pack of Micheloeb (I don’t know how to spell it cause I don’t drink it!)... well... It just made me think... What’s he gonna do next? What am I going to do next?
And in DRAWING FLIES... it’s really about... What are they going to do next? Now, I don’t think anyone other than Mewes, really got to the next level of human existence, but ya know.... Usually on those... expeditions of conciousness... One person moves light years forward... and the others just take the next step in their pathetic lives.
That’s a real key in this film. Pathetic Lives. I can’t imagine going camping with ANY of these people. My god. They just hurt me. First off... Can you imagine going camping with JAY (as in Jay and Silent Bob?)? I can’t. And now that I can... I wouldn’t.
I don’t think this is necessarily gonna be picked up for distribution, but it very well deserves to play at least the college circuit where it would find a bit of life.
I saw it with Tom Joad, Annette Kellerman, Father Geek (who was bored), Super Snatch and SupraSlut... and they really got into the film. Especially Joad and Annette.
It’s a film that makes non-professionals eager to try their hand at film. It’s not real flashy, it’s real dialogue driven... and it works at that level.
It’s not as good as Kevin’s films, but then I didn’t go into the film expecting that. In fact, it would be possible to convince me that this movie was his film BEFORE CLERKS, cause.... it’s a bit rougher than that one.
If you’re a fan of VIEW ASKEW, you’ll love all the in jokes and bits and pieces that you’ve picked up in their respective personalities. Don’t go into it with great expectations, but go into it looking to have a little fun, cause that is what it delivers.
