Game Over: The Secret Life of Game Store Clerks
** 1/2 Stars out of 5
Directed by: Larry Carrell & Joshua Mercurio Drapehs
Starring: Larry Carrell, Josh Drapehs and Amy Staggs
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Not Rated
Released: 2008
Song:
I thought this one would be appropriate.
Livin On The Edge (Of Houston) (Album) - Reverend Horton Heat
Review:
Hey Bitches!! (Trust me, that's an appropriate opening) Hold onto your hats, this movie is full of stuff.... and um..... stuff. All right let's go down the list: We have toilet humor (minus the toilet), lots of Sling Blade references, out of place racial stereotypes, pranks, cleavage, recreational drug use, a bad Matrix spoof, a good Fear and Loathing spoof, excessive use of the word "bitch", and even a meta-film moment. Sounds like a good time right? Well lets take a closer look, shall we?
First of all, this is a very very indy (see 'low budget') film. I'm not sure if the shabby Super 8 I watched it in had anything to do with it but I kept having to remind myself that it wasn't porn. It was shot in digital with some very bad special effects edited in later. I really wish the film maker would have actually skipped the effects all together. I think it will give the film a much more endearing touch to just use bad props rather than adding in cheesy effects.
The script was sort of hot and cold for me. At times the humor was just way too juvenile for my liking. But I did find myself laughing pretty good at some of the lines, especially those delivered by a certain red-headed stranger. There was at least one line in the film that I plan to steal: "You know, Valtrex is just a treatment..... not a cure." Overall, it showed potential. It just needs to be toned down some. You know, a little less..... ehem..... 'corny'.
Most of the acting was about on par with what you might expect although parts of the movie actually just felt like you were watching a couple of friends hang out and talking gibberish to each other. I'm not someone that is of the opinion that you have to be professionally trained to be a good actor. But it was quite obvious that most of the actors in this film have not been. This is absolutely not to say that there is no future for them as actors. Much like the writing of this film, the craft is in need of some honing.
There really wasn't much of a plot to speak of. This was really just a 'day in the life of..' type of a story that was filled with random happenings. The only real problem I had was that I found it at times to be a bit chronologically confusing. There is a point in which we jump to a flashback that took me an extra couple of minutes to figure out what I was watching.
All complaints aside, I liked this movie much more for what it could be than what it is. It showed potential for a couple of aspiring film makers. I have a great love in my heart for DIY arts and would encourage these guys to keep at it and be true to you own film.
Recommendations:
If you like watching people at work: check out High Fidelity. If you like movies with fecal matter (poo): watch Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom.