This movie did everything to advertise itself as a low budget film. I felt like the film makers kept trying to communicate the message "Hey, look at how avante-garde this film is!" From the "alternative coffee house music" style of 15 years before (a staple of "original" films), to the odd angled shots that are "so uh-Hollywood", to the youTube quality finishing, this movie's creators tried their darnedest to make sure nobody confused them with "mainstream" film makers.
I think the reason it was cheesy rather than stylistic is because of several reasons. First, no film made in the last ten years has a good reason to have shoddy technical work, because it's not an original idea to have retro post production quality, and it isn't particularly expensive to find a good crew (Tarantino and Jarmush beat you all to the punch, get a new idea already). Second, the idea of having useless banter is old hat as well and was poorly done. Last of all, every film hinges on the quality of script and acting. There were a few standouts that did well (I thought that Cara Buono, who usually plays airheads, was surprisingly engaging), but mostly the cast didn't carry it.
The saddest part of it is that the plot is actually twisted and darkly humorous in concept. The screenplay isn't actually all that bad either. With better production, it might have been a good black comedy or something. What it ended up being was, well, something else. I'm sure people ate it up at Cannes or something, but its lack of real success is deserving.
Fear is the Mind Killer
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