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There
are a few milestones in every relationship: the first time
you met, the first kiss, the break-up, the marriage proposal;
and you can't forget the first dinner with the family, which
can feel like a job interview, a celebrity roast, and an
exercise in holding your breath underwater. Joshua Caldwell
explores that anxiety in his film short, "Making the
Team," based on the one-act play.
In "Team",
Nicky (Brian Gillespie) is a young man introducing his girlfriend
Savannah (Jenny Batten) to his eccentric family over dinner.
Savannah meets Nick's slovenly father, his sweet Tourette's-afflicted
mother, his boorish brother "Cooler Boy"; and
his ugly grandmother. As the evening progresses, the family
dinner turns into Savannah's hazing ritual.
Don't
worry, though; it's funny. Absurdly, obscenely funny.
Content
The storyline itself is an old chestnut for TV sketch comedy
shows. It's a reliable setup to showcase any venerable oddball
character: you think Mr. Guy-With-A-Snake-On-His-Face is
crazy? Wait until you meet his family! The bit lives and
dies by the characters; if it's a one-note character, the
joke gets older than bowling alley scrambled eggs.
"Team"
takes 25 minutes to tell us the joke; fortunately, the family's
so kooky and engaging that the time flies. Nick's brother
"Cooler Boy" (played by Kevin Thoms) gives the
most quotable performance, and Larry Bull, playing Nick's
father Jack, brings a surprising element to his patriarchal
role: nuance. Every family member makes the most of their
moments, and you don't need a laugh track to know what's
funny.
Most
importantly, the ensemble cast plays off each other impressively.
The danger with a posse of characters in one room is the
"guitar solo"; effect: each character shoving
its way in the spotlight. But by the time the brothers begin
juggling verbal knives at each other, you know you're watching
a family.
The
least-convincing performances (or, at least, the least spirited)
performances come from the "normals", Nicky and
Savannah; then again, maybe it's because we don't discover
their particular neuroses until later!
Like
I said, the story itself is like the standard comedy skit
about meeting the wacky family; the fun is in seeing just
how off the family is. But the film takes the story to its
logical conclusion -and then takes it a step further. And
then a step further. In the end, the film becomes a sweetly
sentimental comment on what it really means to be part of
a family.
Visual
Look
It's a simple setup -occasionally too simple, in fact. The
action stays in the living room/dining room for most of
the film, which gets suffocating at times.It's
the most telling evidence of the script's stage origins.
The lighting is serviceable, although the homestead seems
sparsely furnished for a significantly sized adult family
(at least, the living room compared to the kitchen).
[Note to the Director: A good way to vary the
visual setup would be to get a second outside shot, during
the father/son beating.]
The
filmmakers used a Cannon XL2, and opted to give the short
a filmic, 16mm look, with intimate close-ups to give it
a "fly-on-the-wall"; look. Caldwell also makes
good use of reaction shots, and uses the editing to augment
the dialogue's Neil Simon-esque whirlwhind moments, to make
the film short a distinct experience from the stage play.
Use of Audio
I should mention, at this point, that my review is based
on a rough cut that was sent to Microfilmmaker';s offices,
so I can't entirely say what post-production the filmmakers
still have in mind. The footage I saw didn't have a music
score, for example, and it's obvious which audio was spoken
on-set, and which was ADR. What I heard is fine, professional
quality. So, I'm going to just have to give a score based
on what's here currently.
Use of Budget
My notes say "Making the Team" cost $1,600 to
make, but most of it wasn't spent onscreen (it's only one
location, after all). I asked the director about it, and
he told me that most of the budget went toward renting grip/light
equipment and feeding and transporting everyone involved.
Given the level of the performances from the cast, the director
in me wouldn't regret spending that dime. But the producer
in me is thinking about the art direction.
Lasting Appeal
This all goes back to the characters. Although the filmmakers
tried to accentuate it, the story's still a one-joke plot.
But the actors have so much fun breathing life into Nicky's
family that it's fun to return to those performances time
and time again. If this was a sketch comedy show, Nicky's
family would almost be guaranteed to return. Christmas special,
anybody?
Overall Comment
Overall, "Making the Team" the film watches like
a very faithful adaptaion of a stage play, doing very little
to get in the way. Ultimately, it's all to let the actors
take the characters as far as they can go, and most of the
cast rises to the challenge. Without a music score (and
the editing suggests that he's making room for one), it's
premature for me to assess the final effect. But you don't
need a laugh track to tell you when "Making the Team"
is being funny. You'll laugh, and wonder what's next!
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Content |
7.0 |
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Visual
Look |
6.0 |
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Use
of Audio |
6.3 |
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Use
of Budget |
4.0 |
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Lasting
Appeal |
8.0 |
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Overall
Score |
6.3
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Greg Levrault has written film/music commentary for several newspapers and magazines over the past decade and a half. He has also written several episodes of KDHX-FM's Great American Music Series, and his first motion picture production, Dark Garden, debuted in 2003. Currently, he heads the Lexington-based Central Digit Productions. |
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