Overall, a great film. It’s as warm hearted as it is absurd, and surprisingly well produced considering its "Low Budget first attempt indie" status.
It’s easy to dismiss the film as mid-tier Hollywood, a second shelf, straight to video production. But this is literally a "basement at mom’s house" product, and its unexpectedly good production quality makes it able to blend with much higher budget works without standing out as the hungry orphan. Clearly, this is a film to be proud of.
The cinematography is clean and professional, with clever editing and narration/story boards to set up the plot. The original music score is a real treat as well, (flute and violin?) possessing a subtle haunting quality, reminds me of soundtrack from "Last Mohicans".
Caleb is well played. He displays great emotional depth without speaking, with an almost painful to watch brooding/confusion that is palpable. A truly great “good guy” performance despite the offbeat nature of the film. Montag exudes a combination of outward manic, with obvious internal angst as these two friends clearly agonize over how to come to terms with their evolving relationship. A funny/sad combination of Alpha-male and prankster-nerd, Montag delivers outrageous silliness galore, yet moments between them are tender enough to need a beer can to the head, to keep you from misting up like a fairy. Swank is great as the long suffering sidekick, a solid performance that rounds out the trio. When he nervously ponders telling the story of their prior conflict with the films antagonist, his skill in this short scene really shines.
The pranks are funny, foolish and strange. Guy-stuff gross/ridiculous but with an undercurrent of pure joy. The incredibly over-acting-blow -hard Officer Scar nearly destroys the movie, until you "get it" and realize he is the perfect "absurdity" to keep the film from taking itself to seriously (given the great emotional performances of Caleb and Montag)
Some edit stumbles, a few mumbled lines might make you hit rewind (to no avail), but overall a really great movie I enjoyed immensely . Watch it, judge it as a whole....watch it again and remember it was made in Moms Basement.
You will love this movie.