Every April, I go to NYU's First Run Festival, their annual primary showcase of their student's best works. That's where I first saw FIVE FEET HIGH AND RISING, which was later made into the feature RAISING VICTOR VARGAS. One year before that (1997), I saw a delightful short called JORGE about a very tall, very awkward African-American man looking for love in all the wrong places. I knew the short did well, but I didn't know it later led to yet another feature for an NYU alum. I was thrilled to discover that UMP TOMORROW, an October Indie on Reel 13, resurrects the character of Jorge, still played by filmmaker **** actor Tunde Adebimpe, in yet another romantic adventure.
Director Joel Hopkins adds some other elements to the mix this time around, including French comic actor Hippolyte Girardot, Hispanic beauty Natalie Verbeke and the stuffy Brit actor James Wilby. However, they really just fill out the edges of the feature. What really made Jorge and Jump Tomorrow tick was the presence of Tunde. As I alluded to earlier, Tunde is not a trained actor. He was actually a fellow film student of London-born Hopkins. Hopkins saw his natural comic ability and proceeded to craft both the short and the feature around his assets. In spite of his tall, imposing physique, the magic of Jorge is how Tunde transforms him into a quiet, shy figure and yet he remains consistently charismatic. He doesn't say much, which is fine because Tunde's blank expression tends to speak volumes. Furthermore, his physical comedic ability is on par with a (much taller) modern day Buster Keaton. Adebimpe uses his large frame to maximum comic potential and the results are truly joyous.
Hopkins, as a director, has a little more to offer than just discovering unusual talent. His style is very playful, like something out of the late 60's, and this serves the film well. He manufactures great, plausible comic situations for his traveling duo of Jorge and Girard (Girardot) that he helps work even more with a solid pace. More often than not, independent comedies are killed by their directors and editors letting scenes linger on too long, which diffuses their jokes. Hopkins and his team know just when to cut and truly seem to understand comic timing for film. The frames are consistently well chosen, some of them almost Wes Anderson-esque in their straight-on approach and the light, good-humored music is perfect fit for the light, good-humored narrative.
The actual story isn't the strong suit of the film. Contrivances are abundant and the plot is essentially familiar: Jorge meets someone special on route to his arranged wedding and she is also engaged to someone else. However, Jump Tomorrow doesn't try to be groundbreaking. It rests its laurels on its (and particularly Tunde's) charm and its almost absurdist style. In that sense, it is a hugely successful enterprise because in spite of its flaws, it never ceases to be amusing, entertaining and simply lovely. Hopkins next film, LAST CHANCE HARVEY, comes out this year starring Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman. After seeing JUMP TOMORROW, I know that I plan to be at the multiplex opening weekend to catch his follow up.
(For more on this or any other Reel 13 film, check out their website at www.reel13.org)