I'm on a SK8 kick these days...
Film: June 2011 Archives
"Breakin' is a memory."
FADE IN: Venice Beach, 1986. Perma-tan, pec-olated newbie Corey (aka Josh Brolin) is all about gnarly shreds and bitchin' threads. Despite his Teen Beat preen, he's a serious skater determined to win the local downhill competition as well as the continued admiration of his harmless gang of florescent foals, The Ramp Locals. One day at the beach, amidst the fading glory of breakdancing's heyday, Corey stumbles across Chrissy, a midwestern blonde with lazy eyelashes and one serious fetish for pastel.
ENTER: The Daggers, a hardcore "LOCALS ONLY!" skate crew ready to pummel all outsiders, "Valley jerks", and dudes like Corey with feathered hair. Too bad Chrissy's bro, Hook, is Dagger head honcho or else these two love pups would immediately roll off into the California sunset. Instead, boy fights and turf-wars ensue.
CO-STARS: Sherilyn Fenn as the goth-punk girlfriend of Chrissy's brother Hook, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as everyone's favorite neighborhood band.
FUN FACTS: Johnny Depp was cast (I'm assuming in the role of Hook) along with his then-girlfriend Sherilyn Fenn only later to be dropped by the producer. Thrashin' marked the debut of Catherine Hardwicke, who served as the film's production designer.
STYLE: Graffiti punk, headbands, ripped Converse, Siouxsie and the Banshees t-shirts, white nails, and a whole lotta face paint.
Smart, hilarious, prickly, weird, articulate, silly, inappropriate, familiar, inspiring, singular, nutzo, and really freakin' wonderful. These are just a few of the words I can think of to describe Alex Ross Perry's The Color Wheel which I saw last night at BAMcinemaFest. Directed by Perry and co-written by Carlen Altman, the film is shot on 16mm in black and white (because it "was cheaper," Perry said) and follows a brother and sister on a weekend road trip gone awry. I don't want to give anything away, but last night's packed house of uproarious laughter later dissolved into one of the best cases of uncomfortable audience silence I've ever experienced in le cinema. My two word review? LOVED IT.
I've said this before, but Carlen is one of the funniest people I've met in NYC. Besides doing stand-up comedy and performing in other people's indie films, she also makes guinea pig fashion videos and sells her jewelry collection of Jewish rosaries and Moses rings to places like Colette in Paris. She's also a fearless performer who isn't afraid to throw her rollicking personality into her work. She and Alex co-wrote The Color Wheel together with Alex penning the script first and Carlen rewriting all of her character's dialogue. Together they have an infectious chemistry both on and off the page, all witty banter and infuriating eye rolls punctuating their characters emotional distance from one another.
The two first met at a stand-up night and recognized similar sensibilities in one another. It was a case of "oh, we should make a movie together" and then actually following through with it. As Carlen said last night, "It feels good to finally finish something," which I'm sure many of us can relate to. Alex mentioned that he'd seen 179 movies at BAM and that it was a dream fulfilled to finally have his own film screen there. I was totally inspired afterwards, especially after they both thanked the audience adding that everyone should go out there and make what they want to make. Here's hoping they make more.
