Edward James Olmos accepted the Cinequest Maverick Spirit Award after a screening of his new film “Walkout” on Sunday, March 12. The Maverick Spirit Award is given each year at the annual film festival. Past award winners have included Sir Ben Kingsley, Blanchard Ryan, and Ian McKellan. The award honors the maverick spirit in filmmaking.
“Walkout”, which Olmos directed and in which he has a small part, is about the East Los Angeles high school walkouts in 1968, which sparked a wave of similar protests against the poor schools available to Chicano students. The film focuses on Paula Christosomo (Alexa Vega, “Spy Kids”), a gifted student and leader only a few months away from graduation. Inspired by a leadership conference for Latino youth, she and other student leaders from East LA high schools band together, determined to improve the educational system. Although dogged by police spying, discouraged by parents and administrators, and eventually the victims police brutality, they rally their fellow students and begin a tidal wave of protest that changes them forever.
Vega, who was only 16 at the time of filming, carries the film well and lives her performance so completely that it’s easy to forget you’re watching a movie. A strong cast, including Olmos’ son Bodie Olmos (“Battlestar Galactica”) and Michael Pena (“The Shield” and “Million Dollar Baby”), supports her and helps the entire film to feel thoroughly real. Watching “Walkout” is a moving experience.
After the screening, both Edward James Olmos and Bodie Olmos took the stage for a conversation with Mary Greenwood, the first female public defender in Santa Clara County. Edward James Olmos spoke a great deal about his drive to improve the lives of others. He feels that he and his family live a very privileged life and have a responsibility to give more than they receive. Making powerful films that educate as well as entertain, like “Walkout,” “Stand and Deliver,” and “American Me,” is part of that. He added that he’d rather “make one of these every ten to fifteen years” than one film every year without substance.
Olmos said that he hopes “Walkout” will inspire today’s young people to make a difference, and sees evidence that it does so in the reactions of adults who have seen it. “When you empower the youth,” he said, “it gives the adults tremendous fear.” He feels that “Walkout” has the potential to teach highschoolers today how to stage their own walkouts and feels that it may be necessary. “Things have changed,” he said, referring to the practice of beating students who spoke Spanish at school, “Now they don’t hit you openly.” But he added later, “not enough has changed. We still think there’s such a thing as a Latino race, an African race, a European race,” and use that as a cultural determinant, “when there’s only one race: the human race.”
“Walkout” is a look at a vital part of American history, a part that is often forgotten or overlooked. Olmos and the other filmmakers who created it have done an excellent job, and it’s easy to see that Olmos deserves to be called a maverick. “Walkout” will air on HBO on March 18th and Olmos will be taking it from city to city and showing it in one theater at a time until he can get full distribution.
Every year, groups of filmmakers gather in cities around the US and draw a genre, prop, line of dialog, and character name out of hats. They then have 48 hours to make a 3 to 7 minute long film using all four. The film has to be complete, too -- music, writing, editing, special effects, and so on. The winners from each city bring their films to Cinequest, where they are screened along with prizewinners from the National Film Contest. This reviewer looks forward to the screening every year, even though it usually contains upwards of 30 films and is a tailbone-crushing four hours in length (with one brief intermission). Why? Because sometimes intense pressure produces diamonds.
The shorts screened this year included mockumentaries, comedies, romances, and even a musical (an utterly surreal ode to the wonderfulness of Brisbane, Australia). While the quality of the cinematography varied wildly, it seems that digital filmmaking tools have been a great help. It’s wonderful to see the creative lengths people will go to under time pressure, whether it’s creating a new superhero (Hover Man, whose sidekick is a cup of coffee, slaps sense into people) or imagining the dueling daydreams of two men passing time in an airport. Even if you can’t bring yourself to last the full four hours, this is a project worth checking out.
Cinequest Maverick Spirit Award winner William H. Macy is known for his work in independent film, and the screening of “Edmond” at Cinequest last Saturday cemented his reputation for fearless portrayals. Afterwards, Macy and director Stuart Gordon took the stage for a discussion with the audience, moderated by Cinequest President and co-founder Kathleen Powell.
“Edmond” was originally written by David Mamet as a stage play, but he adapted it for the screen and Gordon took the helm. It’s funny sometimes, but it’s not a comedy. It’s horrifying sometimes, but it’s not a horror film. It’s a look at the human condition that is often difficult to watch but will likely satisfy fans of grim New York drama.
The titular character, Edmond, is a well-to-do businessman who realizes he is fed up with his life of pretense. He walks out on both it and on his wife, and decides to live as honestly as he can, doing what he truly wants to do and saying what he truly thinks and feels. As idealistic as this sounds, it leads to chaos and misery. Edmond is humiliated, beaten, and robbed, and his attempts to reach out lead to a horrifying murder.
The audience at the Cinequest screening stuck it out, and were complimented by Gordon and Macy, who said they wished we all could come with them to the next screening. Other audiences have reacted violently -- during the discussion, Gordon described a production of the play which was interrupted when an irate audience member stood up and began screaming at the actors, only to be yelled at in turn by another member of the audience.
Macy recounted his own difficulties with the material, calling it “unsettling” and later adding, “’Edmond’ is the toughest thing I’ve ever done. I’m really please I got the role, [but I] wouldn’t want to do it again.” In answer to a question about what the film’s underlying meaning is, Macy said “truthfully, I don’t understand this movie in terms of what it means. I don’t get it. But all the scenes struck me as true to the human condition.”
On the surface, Gordon is a peculiar choice to direct the film. Known for “Re-Animator” and other horror movies, his filmography is light on drama and heavy on gore. However, he and Mamet have known each other since Mamet and Macy founded a theater company in the latter’s college days. He was drawn to doing a film version of “Edmond” because when he saw the play, it looked to him like a movie. Although he’s been told it’s his best horror flick to date, he disagrees. “The most horrifying things are the ones that really happen. This is a horrifying film,” he said, not a horror movie. Upon being asked if Edmond is insane, he answered, “No. He’s looking for the same thing all of us are looking for: happiness.”
Due to the violence, racial hatred, and homosexual panic it contains, “Edmond” was a difficult film to get made, and is proving equally difficult to get distributed. Although it hasn’t been rated, it could be a strong R for violence, adult themes, and language. With that said, adults who like to be challenged by films won’t want to miss this when it finds a distributor. It’s difficult and provoking, and sure to result in intriguing discussion.
Shows: 3/08 9:15 PM (Cal), 3/11 12:15 PM (Cam 12)
In Greek mythology, we learn that Orpheus was so in love with his wife Eurydice that when she died, he followed her into the underworld and tried to bring her back. "About the Looking For and the Finding of Love" brings us the story of Venus and Mimi, a singer and her musician, whose love is so intense that they can't stand each other -- until one of them dies and the other braves the underworld in an attempt to give them another chance at life and love together.
The film is an uneasy blending of self-mocking, ironic narration, and a serious attempt at an epic love story. The underworld, which takes up a significant amount of screen time, is eerie and beautiful, and the two main actors are convincingly passionate. However, it's never entirely clear what the filmmakers were shooting for. A self-depricating parody of romance? A heartwrenching love story? The wry narration spoils the effect of the film's action somewhat, but if you can ignore that, it is a reasonably good tragic romance.
Shows: 3/11 2:00 PM (Cal), 3/12 2:45 PM (Cam 12)
This is not an easy film to describe. It's a documentary, but it's sprinkled through with animations and commentary that verge on the absurd. The ultimate effect is a surprisingly evenhanded look at a man generally mentioned in the same breath as dictators like Stalin and Hitler. The film follows Mao Zedong from his youth as a farmer to his death as the leader of the People's Republic of China. We get to see the many fascets of the man, from his idealistic hopes for a bright future for his country to his womanizing habits and refusal to brush his teeth. The filmmakers don't shy away from his good points or his bad ones, presenting everything they have time for with no apparant agenda of judgement.
There are documentary footage, smart-alecky animations, and quotes from Mao's writing, blended together into an intelligent and irreverant portrait of a complex and historically important man. It is almost certainly unlike any documentary you have ever seen.
Sound Man is an outstanding documentary detailing the life of Jack Mullins, a man whose simple act of preservation during World War II changed the face of recorded sound forever. A soldier, with an engineering background, Mullins comes across a captured German device called the magnetophone, a crud and sophisticated piece of recording equipment used by the Nazi's - Hitler's voice was recorded and his speeches broadcast around the Reicht. It offered a marvel of clarity in sound and editing ease and portability. Mullins took the box apart and reengineered the device for modern times. Catching the eye of Bing Crosby and others, technology began to take giant leaps in advancement. Modern recording was now on multitracks and capable of so much more, evidenced by digital recorders and iPods and home studios. This was an engaging tale of this happened making that happen, changing this to that and the other thing; sort of along the lines of "Connections" by James Burke.
I found the film well done, leaving me just a couple of questions. What genius created the original device for the Nazi war machine? How did that come to be? What lead up to it's discovery and use? I wonder about a lot of things. This is a good documentary and worth seeing - and hearing. The sound licks dropped into the film (by Les Paul, Crosby Stills and Nash, Chuck D, Greg Kihn...) are super. Enjoy.
WFC
The main character of "Thank You for Smoking" is Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), the voice of Big Tobacco. He makes his living spinning the wiz out of the deadliest legal product in the American market - cigarettes.
Nick Naylor: "Michael Jordan plays ball. Charlie Manson kills people. I talk."
Senator Finistirre (William H. Macy) wants to put huge poison labels on cigarette packs. The fight is on. Instead of cowering to public ddemand, Nick puts on a PR offensive on TV talk shows and the media and heads out to Hollywood to get Agent Major Domo, Rob Lowe, to promote smoking in movies.
Nick Naylor: "Now what we need is a smoking role model. A real winner. "
Jeff Megall: "Indiana Jones meets Jerry Maguire."
Nick Naylor: "Right, on two packs a day."
Nick’s antics and fame grabs the attention of tobacco's head honcho (Robert Duvall)…
BR: "We don't sell Tic Tacs, we sell cigarettes. And they're cool, available, and *addictive*. The job is almost done for us."
…and investigative reporter Katie Holmes. Nick says he’s only doing what ‘s necessary to pay the mortgage. But begins to wonder and worry how his work is affecting his son, Cameron Bright.
Carrying a load of big names in the film industry, “Smoking…” is an intelligent and hilarious look at spin-doctoring, at the fabricated façade of big tobacco, and at plain good film making. Some of the exchanges could almost have happened. The film is being released commercially March 17. Look for it. It’s worth the price of admission.
WFC
Shows: 3/07 7:00 PM (Cal), 3/09 7:15 PM (Cam 12)
"Bal-Can-Can" is one of those Cinequest movies that drives home just how different its culture of origin is from American culture. It was made in the Czech Republic, and while the main tropes of the film are very familiar (dark comedy/thriller/action movie/buddy movie), the underlying way of looking at the world is not. This isn't some fancy foreign art film. This is a middle-of-the-road film designed to appeal to a wide cross-section of its audience -- but that audience isn't American.
Its plot is very convoluted, and involves a quest to recover the body of our hero's mother-in-law, the son of the hero's father's blood brother, international crime, the civil war which resulted in the creation of Slovakia and the Czech republic, and a whole lot more. Our hero winds up in an oddyssey across Eastern Europe, his only ally the aforementioned son of his father's blood brother. They can only speak a few words of each others' language, but they become friends anyway.
What makes this film particularly interesting is the culture it's steeped in. This film is set in a world where violence is an everyday occurrence. Not in the way that an American film might be, either. The violence isn't deplored or glorified (except in a handful of sequences with homages to both Tarantino and Woo) or even viewed with particular horror. It simply happens, and then one moves on with one's life. It's a strange feeling to watch a film like this, and one of the reasons Cinequest is such a wonderful opportunity for local moviegoers.
Note: While the film is unrated, some parents may find it unsuitable for youngsters under the age of 16.
The West Wittering Affair: “Friends” this is not. A romantic comedy it is not. But it is a story of friends and relationships that go to the ‘next’ level. Jamie, a loser with the ladies, is invited to a weekend in the English countryside with two women. As the evening strolls by, both women find him attractive. And he gives in to temptation. The confusion comes about when the women argue over Jamie; when Jamie visits a counselor to talk through the confusion, but who is a friend with one of the gals; and when a baby is the result of a one-night stand. Misunderstandings bring about ill-advised actions. The filming was solid, each scene steps through the lives of each couple with a pleasant enough touch, and the actors are quite agreeable. The story flow is easy to follow and the outcome of the conflicts satisfying. Just don’t expect a laugh track.
WFC
A’ Colombia - Southern California buddies, Dunkin and Jay, having enough of the LA stress and emptiness, head off on a road-trip seeking peace and an escape of personal troubles. So the logical solution is trek to Columbia. Based on a true story, peace and safety was actually never discovered nor reached. Then, as baggage, the close friends brought their own pain and sadness of addictive behavior with them. You can change scenery but to make a personal change, one must change the mind. Drug use in the film is common to the story theme. Some beautiful scenery was filmed and some wonderful close-ups of locals in-country. Overall, I didn’t gain by the telling of the tale. I did feel saddened and touched, but without growth.
WFC
The 'O' Tapes - Oh My!
This documentary is not for the timid. It's a film of interviews and video clips and graphic visuals all designed to explain the mysteries of sexuality - in particular, the female orgasm. Interviews with professors and housewives and entertainers and grad students, the subject is parlayed into an engaging story of information and understanding. What you don’t know can cause you to miss out. The discussions are frank and vivid and no punches pulled.
Walking up to one of the filmmakers at Cinequest 2006 I was accosted with the question, “Have you had your orgasm today?” And she wasn’t kidding. She wanted and expected an answer. I just didn’t know her well enough to share the details of my private life. My Victorian prudery wouldn’t unlock for that conversation. Her point, though, was that an Orgasm a day keeps one healthy. And here I was working on Red Delicious, Macintosh, and Granny apples!
I have to say I learned quite a bit. The free exchange, the casual, relaxed discussions all left me with an insight a testosterone knuckle-dragger like me could not learn without help. The film offered surprisingly candid material and graphics. Overall, quite interesting. For the topic, well done.
WFC
Gaby is being interviewed. For what we don't know. She's trying to recall an evening that's confusing to her (and us) and give answers to how she lost the 16-year old she was babysitting. The events of that night, as told by Gaby, seem impossible. And probably they are. She couldn't have seen all that she reports to have seen. The story is spun up and around and ends up in a well trapped story. Jennifer Morrison reaches through the lens and grabs at the heart of the viewer. You want to feel she's right, whether or not she is right. The film makers spun a nice yarn, wrapped it up in a tight package, and never let the pace slack. Morrison, as Gaby, was a delightfully focused ditz and extraordinarily clever when required. The consummate liar? You tell me. Some of the answers don’t arrive until the end. This is a nice complete film.
WFC
In the same fluid field of fright brought to the screen by famed Alfred Hitchcock, "For Sale..." is a thriller in the same vein that offers a sinister evening at home. Frightened? That may be simply due to uninvited and unwanted guests! Beware...
It was a dark and stormy night. Lightening flashing, thunder rumbling, and Sera was home all alone. She turns in her kitchen to find a man standing in the living room. The door was unlocked and he let himself in. He's seeking the signature of the owner to sell the house. Sera doesn't know anything about the impending sale. Andrew, the salesman, begins waiting for a ride and begins to show his manic personality. He grows in anger and force, especially when challenged. The more he drinks the more pushy he becomes.
Then enters the Security service repairman. He’s there to replace a computer chip. He’s a bit nervous and carries a religious tick…sort of a depressed evangelist type, who condemns sinners and judges others. With a gal home alone, a drunken and belligerent salesman, and a bible thumping fundamentalist, what follows is all about the film. You’ll have to see it for yourself.
The film was dark - seriously, low lighting was used which added to the intended tension. The music score helped hype up the creepy feeling that crept about. Keep in mind all that went before, then let the ending happen. The ending is worth the wait. The story had me convinced one way, then another; then back to the first; then…well, you get the idea. The storyline leaves you guessing right up to the end. This is a well done thriller.
WFC
Bal Can Can is a dark, dark comedy bordering the line of the twisted. A civil war is raging and follows brothers Trendafil and Santino across Europe as the one (Trend) is seeking to escape the violence - and find his deceased granny wrapped up in a rolled carpet, and the other, Santino, bound by an oath to provide aid to his blood brother when requested. Even in the hard, violent life of Greece, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Bulgaria humor can be found, but only in a fantasy laced reality.
An engaging cast captured attention, especially Trendafil. We cared about him and his ultimate “mission.” Side jokes were all about. Just had to be looking for them. Bal Can Can had momentum and tempo and kept the audience interested the entire trip. Humor had its foundation on the surrounding conflicts and even with a dark story line as the skeleton, laughing out loud appeared the norm. The film maker did snap up some great open scenery. However, the film was poorly subtitled leaving us with a struggle to keep up with the text and story flow. Overall, a nicely done film.
WFC
Making my list of delightfuls is film short, “The Method.” An aspiring actor enlists the aid of a never-failed agent/acting coach. Using his services can (almost) guarantee securing that special role. It’s in his method; Complete and total immersion into the character. Unfortunately for Brad, the character he's hoping to play is a hardhearted criminal. So, for 24 hours before the audition, he’s a criminal, and to get into character he’s taken on real capers rewiring his mind, until in his his mind he now thinks and acts and talks like a criminal. Of course he gets the job, but he has a night of criminal mayhem to answer for. Funny stuff.
The story was well thought out. The filming felt a bit campy. However, the overall effect of the acting, filming, storyboard and backgrounds was solid comedic entertainment all quite entertaining.
WFC
“Artistic License” is a comedy short that preceded another feature but deserves a few lines for its own efforts. David, a government employee, worse, a genius DMV photographer, sets the slow and droll world of civil service on its ear. Not content just to take a photo for a person’s license, he’s manic about ensuring that the license owner is proud of their license photo. His boss has no illusions about the job and demands that he just shoots photos. That is, until she is befriended by the staff she berates and ends up before David for her own license renewal photo.
This film, though only 23 minutes, was a quiet treasure deserving of exposure and replay. The pace is smooth and quick. The humor understated but up front. The acting appeared tight and genuine. “Artistic License” is a fun film. A thought - it might be possible that a feature might develop out of the shadows of this delight.
WFC
“Rice Rhapsody” was a tasty treat of Chinese humanism, almost as much as was the Hainan Chicken Rice/Duck Rice from the cooking competition that brought everyone together at the end. In his directorial debut, writer/director Kenneth Bi allowed the real touch of Hainan China to come through. The dialog was written as the language was actually spoken, in a flowing mixture of English and Mandarin Chinese, (Subtitle in both). The clipped/rush of dialog actually became comfortable to listen/read.
Jen is raising the last of three sons. Leo is studious and an athlete - cyclist. Unfortunately for his mother, he lacks an interest in girls. Fearing she’ll be without grandchildren (her first two sons were gay), she attempts to bring about a hetero-awaking in her last son. In doing so, she pushes all her sons away. With the help of a live-in exchange student, and her competition/suitor neighbor, she sees past their personal choices and back to the family.
The film is backed with big names. Executive Producer is Jackie Chan. Martin Yan (of 'Yan Can Cook' fame) plays the Jens love interest.
Filmed with authenticity and a quiet demand for attention, “Rice Rhapsody” was compelling in story, in character development, and in filming. Nicely done.
WFC
“Far Side of the Moon” is a French Canadian film with that European feel. With a dark noir angst underlying the story, “Far Side…” is a drama about one man’s dreams and his failure to achieve them. In the midst of his failures he must deal with the death of his mother and the cold indifference of his brother. Philip is struggling with a doctorial thesis that is difficult to defend – man is exploring space due to narcissism. To pay bills he’s tied to a dead-end telemarketing job with a boss intent on his being unemployed. And like a sad-sack, he misses special invitations and deadlines due to inattention and ineptness.
The overall filming was well done. It was the long pauses and dark silence for dramatic appeal that slowed the feature down. Characters and the story board were a tad slow in developing. A brighter tempo might have helped with the flow. Overall, a nice bit of filming. French with English subtitles.
WFC
Shows: 3/06 7:15 PM (Cam 12), 3/10 9:30 PM (Cam 12), 3/12 10:30 AM (Cal)
What's it like, the opening credits song asks us, to be gay and Christian? "God and Gays" answers the question by presenting interviews with people struggling to reconcile their sexuality or their children's sexuality with their devotion to the Christian religion. The anti-gay movement is discussed but its spokespeople are not interviewed. That makes sense, because this is not their story and their opinion of homosexuals is well known. This is a look at the people who are torn between their love for the Christian God and their love for their own gender.
The interviews range from funny to heartbreaking. There is footage from a demonstration during which a family -- mother, father, and openly gay son -- are carted away by sheriffs after reading an open letter to James Dobson, the Head of anti-gay group Focus on the Family. There are discussions with homosexual ministers and lay leaders. There is even a discussion with a formerly high-ranking member of an ex-gay movement. There are no easy answers here, and the film presents a portrait of the struggle without a definitive portrait of what the world might look like if either side wins. This is a compassionate, heartfelt look at a struggle that reaches from religion to politics.
Shows: 3/08 9:30 PM (Cam 12), 3/10 5:00 PM (Cam 12)
Three adults sharing a house in Oakland learn about each other and about life and love during the course of this film. Alma, a pot-dealing single mother, struggles with her boyfriend, a pothead, and her father, who just wants the best for her. She also struggles with Vargas, her housemate, who is a somewhat arrogant novelist supporting himself by substitute teaching. Penny, a French exchange student, moves in with them and sets about making friends and taking lovers. Their friends include Patricia, a kindly woman suffering from cancer who manages to persuede Alma to trade pot for babysitting.
This is a slice-of-life film more than an actual story, and for the most part it rings very true to life. The characters make stupid but understandable mistakes, and although they all mean well they don't always do the right thing. This portrait of Bay Area life rings true, no doubt in part because the director, writer, and cast are all local.
Shows: 3/03 9:30 PM (Cam 12), 3/4 7:45 PM (Rep)
"Chalk" was written by two teachers from Austin, Texas, filmed at a high school, and the extras and supporting cast are all real high school students, teachers, and administrators. It lends a definite authenticity to the film, which often feels more like a reality TV show about a year in the lives of high school faculty than like a comedy. Loosely scripted and heavily improvised, the scenes have a spontenaity that is so often missing from the big Hollywood blockbusters, and anyone whos' ever been a teacher will groan, laugh, and wince in sympathy with these characters. For non-teachers, this is a revealing look at the front lines of high school education. Half of all new teachers quit in their first three years, and this film shows us why.
The film focuses on four people. Mr. Stroope (Chris Mass), a charismatic but sarcastic history teacher who is determined to win Teacher of the Year, no matter what it takes. Mr. Lowry (Troy Schremmer) is a first year teacher who has abyssmal classroom management skills but means well. Mrs. Reddell (Shannon Haragan) used to be a teacher but is now an Assistant Principal, and is finding it's an even more difficult job than standing in front of a classroom of unruly teens. Her friend, PE teacher Coach Webb (Janelle Schremmer), is trying to deal with the change in her friend and with her own apparently unrequited interest in Mr. Lowry. The teachers do their best to muddle through, dealing with fights, sullen kids, long hours, and each other without losing their minds and while trying to impart some education to their students. This is a must-see for anybody with a connection to education.
Shows: 3/3 6:30 PM (Cam 12), 3/4 11:30 AM (Cam 12)
This collection of short films includes some real sidesplitters. "Zombie-American" features "The Daily Show" correspondent Ed Helms as a zombie who just wants to be accepted as a person. Cinequest regular Jarrad Paul stars in two films, "K-7" (about a job interview that goes hysterically awry when the applicant finds out he's applied to the CIA and they actually want him to be an assassin) and "The Method" (about the lengths some actors will go to in order to get an important part). Sandra Oh ("Sideways") stars in "Kind of a Blur," which takes a look at a couple after a fun but largely blurred night out. "The Awesome Robots vs. Transformo" will have anyone who's known serious comic dorks rolling in the aisles, and "Julieta y Ramon" features an unusual love story between two people with equally strong but very different fetishes.
"The Racist Brick," a vignette about an insensitive guy, doesn't quite hit its mark, and "Fancy" is a drawn-out version of one of the oldest "so a woman goes to the gynecologist..." jokes in the world. Then there's "The Smartest Person Who Ever Lived," which (judging from audience reaction) is a lot funnier if you've been married for a long time. Overall, this collection of shorts is a lot of fun and it definitely has some real gems.
“Thank You For Smoking” gives Cinequest a darkly hilarious opener
Ealasaid A. Haas
Wednesday March 1, Cinequest opened its 16th run in San Jose with a bang of a gala: a handful of speeches, a cynically hilarious film, and a full house at the after-party.
The gala, held at the historic California Theater, had film fans lined up well before the doors opened. After a brief speeches by Cinequest founders Halfdan Hussey and Kathleen J. Powell and plenty of thanks for the festival’s sponsors, they rolled the film.
“Thank You For Smoking” is a razor-sharp comedy about big tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart, “Paycheck”, “In the Company of Men”). He makes his living by defending big tobacco and trying to win over the hearts, lungs, and minds of Americans. When a senator (William H. Macy, “Cellular”) launches a bill to get cigarette packs labeled as poison, Nick goes on an all-out blitz to make smoking cool again. Normally he’s unstoppable, but he may be held back by the triple threat of his son’s burgeoning interest in his activities, a legit death threat, and a reporter (Katie Holmes, “Batman Begins”) who looking awfully closely at his business.
The script, based on Christopher Buckley’s novel of the same name, is so sharp it hurts -- both the near-absurd wit and the cynicism hit their marks. The cast members step up to the challenge and deliver performances that walk the line between hysterical and over the top. It’s like watching a brilliant tap-dancing performance by an ensemble -- the timing, energy, choreography, and rhythm combine to provide a thoroughly entertaining, exhilarating spectacle.
After the movie, folks walked over to the Paragon Restaurant & Bar at the Hotel Montgomery for a packed after-party. There was live music, a chocolate fondue fountain, plenty of appetizers, and wine poured by roaming waiters. There was also the Paragon’s bar, staffed by its efficient bartenders. Filmmakers, film fans, and press mingled and schmoozed, and a good time was had by all.
“Thank You For Smoking” opens in limited release on March 17, but Cinequest only runs through March 12. Be sure to check the CineBlog, http://www.ealasaid.com/cineblog/ , for Ealasaid Haas’ and W. Fred Crow’s up-to-the-minute coverage of Cinequest movies and events.