Greetings humans, Monki here with my first round of updates from the South By Southwest Film Festival 2008! I spent my opening day swinging from the rafters of the beautiful Paramount Theater while checking out Super High Me and the Vegas flick 21.
On a side note, I probably had the quickest, easiest time through the SXSW registration line ever. I'm not sure why exactly but it seems like after a few years of doing this they don't freak out about my furry paws any more. Good job SXSW volunteers!
The evening began with Michael Blieden's newest documentary, Super High Me. Blieden wrote Melvin Goes to Dinner and directed the Comedians of Comedy, two fantastic SXSW catches over the past few years, so needless to say I was looking forward to his next entry.
Super High Me follows comedian (and marijuana advocate) Doug Benson through an "experiment" to see what the effects of being "Super High" for a month are...there is a tiny catch though: before his 30 day stint into debauchery Doug must go completely sober for 30 days. This doc follows that 60 day period of extremes in Doug's life.
In the process he is also subjected to various tests to see if any changes occur on or off pot. Doug visits a doctor and a psychiatrist throughout the process to get some more insight into what exactly this drug is doing to his body and psyche.
This is an excellent film and a perfect choice for an opening night screening at SXSW. The subject matter is something that a lot of Austinites (and those damn out-of-towners) are probably in to and the package that it is wrapped in is fantastic. Blieden blends the trials and tribulations of Benson's life on and off of pot with poignant looks at the legal practice of selling marijuana for medicinal reasons in California.
Watching Doug's exploits for an hour and a half could have gotten boring, and likewise, watching a documentary solely on the problems facing dispensaries (legal drug dealers) in California could have been pretty slow as well. The mix here is just about perfect though as we follow the 60 days of the experiment.
On a personal note, I don't smoke pot, I just never got in to it. Don't get me wrong, I've been around it, I've seen the vast majority of my friends smoke up, but I've never really had a problem with it. And for the minority of people who freak out whenever pot is brought up in conversation, for every single story of a kid's life "destroyed" blowing smoke, I can point out to you dozens of friends of mine with jobs, normal lives, and children who are perfectly functional but prefer to get a buzz on after a day at work. (And don't want the hangover associated with alcohol.)
Super High Me is a documentary you have to see if you have a strong opinion on the legalization of marijuana (for OR against). Hopefully this film may open a few eyes out there...or make a few eyes bloodshot and squinty.
After Super High Me I hung out in the Paramount narrowly avoiding the red-jacket white-haired security in the theater in order to stay for the next "big" premier, 21.
You probably know the story of 21 already. I know I've seen a few television pieces on the kids from MIT who went to Vegas and broke the system...this is their story with a bunch of gloss on it.
I won't go in to much detail as it is all pretty simple. Ben (Jim Sturgess from Across the Universe) needs money to go to Harvard Medial School. It turns out he is a super-genius when it comes to numbers. Professor Rosa (Kevin Spacey) notices Ben's ability and brings him in to a group of elite card counters. Jill (Kate Bosworth) is one of those super-hot girls that Ben could never be with in the "real" world.
They all team up, fly to Vegas on weekends, make a shitload of money, fly back. Somewhere in there Cole (Laurence Fishburne), a loss-prevention specialists for casinos in Vegas, catches their trail and proceeds to try to catch them in the act.
Wackiness ensues.
I was looking forward to this one as Jim Sturgess' big push in to American cinema. His performance in Across the Universe was stunning and I was hoping for equal badassery in this one. One problem though...they made Jim cover up his English accent for a Northeast American accent...something he had trouble with.
His accent is pretty forgivable though as his character arcs from the dorky MIT kid to the Vegas badass who is hooking up with Kate Bosworth...oh man and Kate Bosworth is HOT in this movie. Something about a girl with different colored eyes that just drives me up the banana tree.
Kevin Spacey seems to be sleepwalking through this film. He felt out of place in a few scenes and his only shining moments come when he is teaching his class at MIT and when he goes undercover towards the end of the film. For the most part though he is just reading his dialogue with as deep of a voice as he can with a sarcastic drip to it.
My biggest problem with the film was the turn that Spacey's character makes towards the end...I won't delve too much in to spoiler territory but let me just say his turn is pretty extreme for what we've come to learn of him up to that point. For a two hour movie you'd expect for it to develop his character a bit more for the sake of the audience.
All in all though, I did enjoy it, just not as much as I would have liked to. The entire thing was worth it though to hear Sturgess during the Q&A refer to Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus...awesome.
I've got another big day ahead of me, I'm going to start grooming myself for my encounter with Kristen Bell that is planned for Monday. Oh, and I might get the chance to meet with NPH himself tonight! THE Neil Patrick Harris. Sweeeet.
SXSW is my favorite time of the year...alright, until next time, back up the tree I go!
-Monk
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