Hey folks, Harry here - This is Masado's first SXSW covering stuff for AICN - and this his very first write up. Seems this flick is worth checking out. Especially if you're a Foglerphan....

THE MARCONIS BROS

Written and directed by cousins Michael Canzoniero and Marco Ricci. Starring Dan Fogler, Brendan Sexton III, Jon Polito, Zoe Lister-Jones, Patti D'Arbanville, and Stephen Randazzo.

The Marconi Brothers had its world premiere last night at the Alamo Ritz. The house was packed, and the filmmakers and most of the principal cast were in attendance.

The film follows the misadventures of two twenty something brothers, Anthony and Carmine Marconi (Brendan Sexton III and Dan Fogler), who feel trapped in the family carpet business. Anthony is uptight and responsible, while Carmine is his polar opposite. They both aspire to something more than wall-to-wall stainmaster installation. They try to coerce their father into letting them take over Marketing and Promotion for the business. When he shoots down that idea, the brothers promptly quit and take a job as assistants to Lou Burns (the fabulous Jon Polito). Lou is "the undisputed king of the Long Island wedding video business." Hijinks ensue.

The rest of film takes place at a series of weddings. Carmine doesn't take their new job (or anything) very seriously. He screws up. He forgets to bring equipment, doesn't change the batteries in the wireless microphones, and is more focused on the open bar and buffet. Anthony gets angry. The two of them fight and argue. A lot. Jon Polito gets even angrier, and yells at them. A lot. It's a blast to watch Jon Polito get flustered at their incompetence, which is good, because the film doesn't really give him much else to do. That's the main problem with this movie. It has a fantastic, engaging cast, but the story gives doesn't give any of them much to do.

Anthony develops a crush on a wedding photographer, Lauren (played by the lovely Zoe Lister Jones). Their stilted almost-romance eats up a lot of screen time, but goes absolutely nowhere. Lots of longing sideways looks and awkward exchanges, but ultimately, they never even kiss. A bout of thumb wrestling is as intimate as it gets. Seriously.

The film did garner a lot of laughs, but nearly all of them went to Dan Fogler, who manages to steal the entire movie, by playing the part of the world's worst assistant wedding videographer to the hilt. When he's not on screen, the film seems to grind to a slow halt until he returns.

After the screening, the co-writer/directors (cousins Michael Canzoniero and Marco Ricci) held a self-congratulatory Q&A, during which they revealed they'd put themselves through film school by working as wedding videographers, an experience that served as the inspiration for the film. They also let slip that, after shooting for two months, they'd spent the past two years editing the footage. An indication that they may not have had a clear idea of the story they wanted to tell from the outset.

Overall, the Marconis Brothers is an enjoyable and well-acted slice-of-life comedy, and its worth checking out just for the performances alone (especially those of Fogler and Polito). Try and catch it at one of its two remaining SXSW screenings:

5:00 PM, Sunday March 9th - Alamo Ritz 2
6:30 PM, Friday March 14th - Alamo Lamar 1

From deep within the SXSW trenches,

Dr. Masado Banzai