edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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N.Y. Post critic Lou Lumenick recently caught a Tribeca Film Festival screening of Brian Hecker's Bart Got a Room, and was pleasantly surprised. "I didn't have enormous expectations," he writes, "for this autobiographical story about a teenager trying to find a prom date in a south Florida town with the help of his newly-divorced parents, played by William H. Macy (in a Jewfro!) and Cheryl Hines.

Macy, Kaplan in Bart Got a Room

"But it's hilarious, quick-paced (80 minutes!) with lots of smarts and heart and a terrific lead performance by newcomer Steven Kaplan and, unusually for a teen comedy, a big-band score. Some smart distributor should snap this up quick."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 26, 2008 at 11:56 AM

comment #1

DotTheEyes says ...

The picture has an American Pie/Eugene-Levy-and-Jason-Biggs feel.

Posted by DotTheEyes at April 26, 2008 12:48 PM

comment #2

lazarus says ...

Yeah, that big band score will help it top recent non-starters like Charlie Bartlett.

The title is only a little better than Igby Goes Down (which was pretty underrated).

Good luck, "smart" distributor.

Posted by lazarus at April 26, 2008 12:55 PM

comment #3

Scott Feinberg says ...

I was also at the screening last night and I'm 100% with Lou---the film is funny throughout, features great performances, and was the best surprise of the festival, for me.

Posted by Scott Feinberg at April 26, 2008 1:37 PM

comment #4

MilkMan says ...

It would be refreshing if young filmmakers could use someone other than Wes Anderson as a visual touchstone. This shot tells me that the movie is nothing more than 2nd gen Rushmore/Tenenbaum. How about B&W Beta Video? Anything, anything other than this tired "deadpan," low-angle framing stuff. I mean really, enough, already.

Posted by MilkMan at April 26, 2008 1:57 PM

comment #5

DarthCorleone says ...

Yeah, speaking of cliched stills (THE HAPPENING), how many times have we seen this shot of the two leads sitting on a couch staring straight forward at the camera and looking all sorts of disaffected?

Posted by DarthCorleone at April 26, 2008 3:12 PM

comment #6

dangovich says ...

Anything, anything other than this tired "deadpan," low-angle framing stuff. I mean really, enough, already.

Exactly. Maybe this movie is funny, but this publicity still is like a warning sign.

Posted by dangovich at April 26, 2008 3:28 PM

comment #7

JackeyAces says ...

Its seems a bit more of a "Slums of Beverley Hills" vibe than "American Pie" to me.

Posted by JackeyAces at April 26, 2008 5:42 PM

comment #8

Filmsnob says ...

Lou can go FUCK HIMSELF!! , I've never forget the heartless and cruel eulogy he gave Heath Ledger 2 hours after he died. He's a steaming pile of shit.

http://blogs.nypost.com/movies/archives/2008/01/heath_ledger_19.html

Posted by Filmsnob at April 26, 2008 6:04 PM

comment #9

Nate West says ...

If it's Wes Anderson, it's Anderson channeling Mike Nichols, Hal Ashby, Luis BuÃ±uel, Buster Keaton, etc. This shot goes back way before Wes was born.

Posted by Nate West at April 26, 2008 10:36 PM

comment #10