Wild Girl Waltz (2012)

Fear and Loathing in Western Mass

Writer and Director Mark Lewis takes us to the back roads of Western Massachusetts for this comedy with character. Lewis chooses to explore the friendship and dumb decisions of two best friends - Angie and Tara - who take drugs in order to escape their routinely boredom for a few hours. Dazed and Confused, the two compadres find a baby-sitter in Brian - Tara's boyfriend - who is stuck taking care of the girls until they come down from their high. To a background of country music, the movie makes us travel through rural New England with the three amigos. Wild Girl Waltz focuses on friendship and tiny bits of romance. I feel like the goofy comedy is just a cover to address real-life young adults' issues. Angie and Tara are stuck in their rural hometown. Out of college and money, they have nowhere to go so they decide to get wasted for a moment to mentally escape their reality. The two female leads are hilarious and naturally impersonate the wasted characters. The story flows around their offbeat personality. Wild Girl Waltz is shameless, sarcastic and is just the comedy that girls have been waiting for too long.

1 reason to watch: the catchy leading duo

Read my interview with Writer/Director Mark Lewis here!

Away We Go (2009)

Are We Screw-Ups?

Away We Go is a road movie by Sam Mendes. A pregnant couple tries to figure out where to build their home and raise their baby. The screenplay is cleverly written by Dave Eggers and Vandela Vida and displays a subtle and intelligent sense of humor that cracks me up. The story flows on the soundtrack which features songs by Alexi Murdoch. The atmosphere is calm and relaxed despite the crazy friends and family members Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) meet on their trip. Away We Go is a big patchwork postcard taking you to Phoenix, Montreal, or Miami. Burt and Verona symbolize the morally-perfect couple on a quest for a decent place to root their family values. I watch Away We Go like I eat a several-course meal. I pace myself and enjoy each course featuring different outstanding actors. Be prepared to start the appetizers with Catherine O'hara and Jeff Daniels and move on to Maggie Gyllenhaal or Allison Janney among others. This movie has the merit to follow a green filmmaking set of rules. It's always a plus for me. Away We Go is another Mendes-made stroke of genius.

1 reason to watch: clever comedy is not dead

Notre Jour Viendra (Our Day Will Come - 2010)

Redheads VS. The World

Romain Gavras' style is unusual. That's no breaking news. I watched Notre Jour Viendra because the plot seemed fascinating. Let me sum it up for you: Rémy (Olivier Barthelemy) is a teenage ginger constantly bullied at school or at home because of his hair color. Patrick (Vincent Cassel) is a redheaded psychiatrist but he is crazier than all of his patients put together. The two of them join forces to fight against discrimination and hatred. They go on a violent quest to Ireland, supposedly Redhead Heaven. Let's imagine Tarantino would direct this film. It would be a bloody and funny roadtrip to Ireland or when From Dusk Till Dawn meets Django Unchained. But Gavras is no Tarantino. His style is drastically different. When Tarantino makes you laugh with a shocking story, Gavras makes you uncomfortable with a basic one. Vincent Cassel's character is a manipulative mood-swinging psycho. Someone you definitely don't want to meet. Ever. Barthelemy's character has good intentions at first but quickly follows the steps of his mentor. It's a movie to watch but only once. I won't watch this movie once a year on a rainy Sunday like other classics. In line with Sheitan and Irréversible but not as unbearable, Notre Jour Viendra makes you feel gross and affected. I personally felt like taking a shower and watching a re-run of How I Met Your Mother after I watched Notre Jour Viendra. The deranged sexuality scenes sprinkled with infantile weirdness is too much for me to handle. Try it with caution, it's not for everybody.

1 reason to watch it: you like disturbing movie sessions

1 reason NOT to watch it: you like going to bed without feeling dirty and awkward