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DRAWING FLIES review
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.
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Man, I remember seeing info on this film like forever ago on the IMDb. I could not wait for it to come out, but then years past and I thought maybe the film never existed or maybe the IMDb was playing some lavish prank. I just hope I do not have to wait another couple years to see it!!!
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I thought the movie was very rough, like watching a rough cut of some cheap student film, but it was funny. Especially enjoyed Jason Lee's whole Bigfoot experience. I saw this film like 2.5 years ago at a festival...
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I was at Vulgarthon '98, and I fell asleep during "Drawing Flies". I liked "A Better Place" a lot more. Harry, we don't you travel to the Mecca of View Askew: Red Bank, NJ! You can see Jack's Music Shoppe (from Chasing Amy, I just sold back 20 CDs there), sit on the step outside Holden and Banky's "apartment", and go oggle at Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. Travel 10 minutes and buy some Gatorade from the Quik-Stop, and get a fake membership card from RST Video ("Hi, I'd like a membership." "Are you serious, or just fans?" "Well, fans actually." "Here, take this."). Besides, I wanna go drinking with Harry, damnit! :-) And I'm too cheap (and broke) to travel to Austin.
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Is this film going to be distributed very widely for theatre or rental? I would love to see it but have heard nothing about it where I live in Madison, Wisconsin.
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First a correction to the review, Jason Lee is the lead in Drawing Flies, not Mewes. It also stars Renee Humphrey, Carmen Lee (Jase's wife), Joey Lauren Adams, Ethan Suplee, Canadian indie directing guru Bruce McDonald, Kevin Smith and 'Martin the hairstyle superstar'.
Yeah, it looks rough. It should, it only cost 30 grand and was filmed out in the woods. the flick's been around the fest circuit for years and was the first flick Smith's View Askew Productions financed after the success of Clerks.
So why is Flies again looming large? Because the writer/director team that made it, Malcolm Ingram and Matt Gissing, have just sold their follow-up flick, Tail Lights Fade, starring Denise Richards, Breckin Meyer, Jake Busey and the lovely Liz Berkley, to Trimark - a turn of events which may see renewed interest in 'Flies, and deservedly so. -
Drawing Flies is out on DVD. Came out within the past few weeks, probably to take advantage of the attention that the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back DVD brings to all the view Askew stuff.
I bought it last night, and enjoyed it. Definitely rough looking black and white, but the characters and dialog are entertaining.
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