Mindless but fun, great first effort
I'm writing a slightly biased comment here :) I went to HS with the guy and it was cool to see half of my HS friends in it for cameos after not seeing them for 10+ years. Scoot, you have to give yourself a cameo like Tarantino.
This was a first effort by the director, and for that, I feel it was a tremendous success. From learning how to cast, film, edit, market, distribute, all on an extremely low budget when it comes to Hollywood films, but more than most of us make in a year. For the cost of this versus what was delivered, you really have no idea how great of a job it was.
I have seen like 3,000 movies, and I went into it with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Why? Some of the writing really has some good promise, and I feel the director did a great job with casting. On all low budget independent films, you run into issues with costs. No, no special effects like things blowing up. No, no high speed chases. Some of the dialogue is a little over the top, but you pretty much don't know the sense of humor of the director and writer as I do, and you didn't go to our HS where I could definitely see those clowns talking about this kind of stuff. So in that sense, yeah, it is realistic. And the style of over the top also brings a little fresh edge to a stagnant genre.
My critical issues of the movie are with tempo. I felt there was no sense of time in it, and it was sort of leading to this big party and you had no real sense of when it was or what day it was. This, unfortunately, you just can't re-do after the movie was filmed. But how people get into the party? Anyone ever go to an over the top fraternity party knows people can be sick and twisted. I can say that all of us have been in many of those positions, and what's funny is how it's captured. Sort of like for me my own personal Dazed and Confused because, well, the thing was filmed 5 miles from my HS.
What is extremely noteworthy in it was a picnic/romantic scene with music that was absolutely touching. Really, that was top notch directing, casting, scenery, and what made the whole movie show me that he has real promise down the road. Anyone out there who might be turned off by dialogue of "footjobs" for future directing projects for Scooter needs to see the that scene.
As mentioned, there is some dialogue in there that is extremely funny, some humor is missed by the viewer unless you sort of "get it".
I was also a reviewer of a pre-release awhile back, so there may have been some editing done to counter some of my comments. No, this is not an Oscar movie...and if you're going into it thinking of the quality of "Big Daddy" or the like, think how Adam Sandler did "Overboard" as his first movie. Everyone has to start somewhere, and this will serve as a fun start to hopefully a long career. Hmmm...one of my friends in HS invents YouTube, another could be a Hollywood director. Go figure. Scoot...go hit him up :)
"Scooter" Lammey is a cool dude who overcame a ton to get this out. I wouldn't say buy it for like $25.00, but I would say it's worth a rent with some of your fraternity brothers for a Sat afternoon over a case. I think it's not $25, but something more reasonably priced, I have to see if it's in Blockbuster this weekend and support him by getting a copy :) It could be one of those guilty cult classics down the road if enough people see some highlights of the film and word gets out.
I would really like to see what he could do with a serious budget. Like I said, not an Oscar movie, but peaks of real talent there that a budget can really assist with.
I would compare his style in a sense to a Quentin Tarantino - just in the fact that it is a dialogue driven movie where you have things like the "quarter pounder with cheese" from Pulp Fiction. I LOVE Pulp Fiction because there's a ton of dialogue about dumb things that really, when put together, make a really overall good experience and have memorable topics.
In Seinfeld, we remember things like "No soup for YOU!", "A second spitter", without remember much of anything about the episode entirely. You can glean some quotes from this as well.
That being said, I would look for some real high points in this movie to take with you and chalk up the rest as just having some fun.
What's interesting is the cast is amazing for the most part. I know actors do a lot of different types of work, but their efforts in this were extremely noteworthy.
Good job Scoot...wish you the best with this!
P.S. Let me know if it's in all blockbusters or just regionally. I'd buy it online, but I want to talk up the idiot clerk to get him to recommend it to a few people to get a few more sheckles for you :)