FFanzeen: Rock'n'Roll Attitude With Integrity: indie cinema

Monday, April 30, 2018

Film Review: Nothing Good Ever Happens

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2018

Images from the Internet

Nothing Good Ever Happens

Written and directed by Henrique Couto

New Dynamic

91 minutes, 2016

https://www.facebook.com/nothinggoodeverhappens/

Normally, when a director switch-hits genres, it’s either sub-genres within the same genus (horror comedy, horror drama, horror Giallo, psychological horror, etc.), or it’s a one-off to push their own comfort level as an experiment, and then go back to the theme from whence they came. Hence the auteur label.

Henrique Couto, the director of this micro-budget film is a bit different in that way. Yes, there is a stylistic similarity which is pretty inevitable (as an example of that theory, does the name M. Night Shyamalan ring a bell?), but Couto does manage to genre-hop like few others do. Sure, he does horror (e.g., Devil’s Trail), but there is also the likes of Westerns (Calamity Jane’s Revenge), warm and romantic themes (Making Out) and family-oriented releases (A Bulldog for Christmas). He’s also done at least a couple of comedies about depression, such as this one.

Bradley Diehl and Josh Miller

A comedy about depression? What’s more, a decent comedy about depression?! In the words of that deep, spiritual philosopher, Keanu Reeves, “Woooooh.” For this story, Neil (Josh Miller), in a role similar to the Ben Affleck character in Chasing Amy (1997), is an artist who is suffering through some tough breaks. These include a go-nowhere career as a for-hire industrial artist, some friends that bully him, and most importantly, his live in girlfriend Amanda (the always wonderful Erin R. Ryan, who appears in many Couto films) leaves him with little warning, though the viewer gets see a few of the signs. To make matters worse, he accidentally drinks a glass of bleach while in a drunken stupor, and no one will believe him that he was not trying do away with himself over Amanda.

This is where we pretty much pick up the story, as it is told in a mixture of being in the moment and flashbacks. But the basic plot, which in itself is enjoyable, is not all of what makes this film stand out to me. Rather, it’s the way Couto plays with the convention of the story, switching thing up in ways one would not expect, especially in this type of story. His formula is to not be formulaic. Sounds like a contradiction, I know, but that’s what makes it work.

Erin R. Ryan

For one example, most of his friends, including his ex-, turn out to actually be quite toxic, but one of the truest friends who sticks by him, is the not-too-smart, occasionally racist and complete boneheaded Dave (joyfully played by Bradley Diehl). His idea to cheer up Neil is to make up a screechy song called “Neil is an Asshole.” We’ve all had good friends like this, that others would look at and think, what do they see in each other, but it works. Also, that Dave is a sympathetic character rather than being merely an annoyance, shows in both the writing and the portrayal. Another true friend turns up who starts as a rival, Mia (Marylee Osborne, in a really spot-on and impressive reading of her role). Both of these are probably just who you would not expect to be helpful, and in turn it’s the good friends that are toxic and the ones who usually end up in the buddy role in most films.

In a similar fashion, there is a nice little twist in the story about a possible love interest that I will not give away (hopefully) that just shows how smart the film actually is, as opposed to being merely a Lifetime Move-of-the-Week type.

One of my favorite characters in the film is the court-ordered psychologist (Chandra McCracken) who Neil is to obligated to see. She is a wound up looney (reminding me Dr. Cheryl Kinsey, a sex psychologist played by Andrea Martin on “SCTV”), and scarily similar to someone that I once saw as a teen in a similar capacity. She asks really personal questions in a negative-yet-monotone-yet-distant tone, and is hilarious.

Coquette du Jour

In other words, the film is definitely character-driven, and sometimes it’s the moments that impress, such as a disappearing parent, a rebound relationship that takes some surprising turns (with the lovely professional burlesque dancer Coquette du Jour), or a just-met family friend (a nice cameo by Al Snow, who keeps impressing me with his mostly short bits, that I’ve seen, in indie films of various genres).

As with many indie filmmakers who work on micro-budget productions like this one, they find their niche location, and with Couto, it’s the Dayton, OH, area. He has a community, and many of these actors have worked together enough to know each other’s rhythms, and have learned how to play off of each other in ways that give great chemistry, and help move the film along to make it both more believable and especially give a human touch that many large-moolah productions lack.

Again, while the dialog is humorous and the plot is filled with some unexpected twists and turns, it’s not only that and the characters that make this film successful, but also that these fictional beings are given some level of respect, even within the disrespect they sometimes give each other. It’s warm without being mushy, it’s romantic without being sloppy, and there’s some raunchy bits without it being embarrassing for couples to watch together.

Trailer:

Entire free film:

Bonus short

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Zombie Walk, Saskatoon, May 5, 2012

Text and photos (c) Robert Barry Francos
Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them
More photos can be found HERE

Saskatoon may be a relatively small city, but they have a young and somewhat transient population thanks to the University of Saskatchewan and SIAST College. That is part of the reason for the success of the Dark Bridges Festival (DBF) that occurs yearly.

The DBF is a film showcase held at the beautiful (and non-government-supplemented) Broadway Theatre, where they show different and odd genre films, including action, horror, foreign and westerns. The crowd for it gets larger every year.

A few years ago, someone figured out a Zombie Walk for Halloween, when there is usually a special horror-related show at the Broadway; people dress up like zombies and stumble from the downtown side over the Broadway Bridge, to the theater. Being as cold as it gets at the end of October, however, coats were needed over the costumes just to not freeze your braaaaain off. So, someone wisely decided that perhaps at the start of the DBF in May would be a better time for the Walk, as it tends to be better weather, so the zombie-fan crowds would be in larger turn-out.

Despite the threat of inclement weather on that Cinco de Mayo day, people gathered in good spirits at Kiwanis Park, at the base of the Broadway Bridge, at least an hour before the Walk was to start. This was my first time to be there, and was looking forward to it. Of course, I still have not purchased a new camera, so as my old one is sensitive to dampness, it was turning on and off by itself. As the weather got wetter, the less the camera worked.

According to the Old Testament, God got angry at the world, and sent a giant flood. That is kind of what happened at the this Zombie Walk in Saskatoon, when the skies boomed and then opened up, just as the walk was about to start. My camera gave up the ghost, so I left to do my own two-mile walk home in the downpour.

The zombie horde marched and stumbled slowly across the bridge, umbrellas up and soaked, with make-up thinning and dripping.

God must hate zombies, having sent another flood.