Chris Smith and Sarah Price

Started by aclockworkjj, January 09, 2003, 11:40:56 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

aclockworkjj

1000 apologizes as this is off subject....

Mr. Wilson, I love the signature quote you have....I went to school with Chris Smith and Sarah Price....it's nice to see that their movie made it further out than our little Milwaukee film school....well, and Sundance or course.

On subject... Yeah, go see PDL, not once, not twice, but at least 8 times...lol...we need the overseas market to make up for PDL's somewhat disappointing American run....purely box office wise speaking!

Xixax

Quote from: aclockworkjjwent to school with Chris Smith and Sarah Price....it's nice to see that their movie made it further out than our little Milwaukee film school....well, and Sundance or course.

Man, that is too cool. I fell in love with American Movie when I saw it, and the DVD is even more awesome with deleted scenes and a great commentary. I have been meaning to purchase American Job from Borchardt's web site, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Mark and Mike make such a killer pair - great subject material for a documentary.

It's similar to another documentary I recently saw called Driver 23, but Driver doesn't have as much charm as American Movie. I think Chris and Sarah did an awesome job. I can't wait to see their future work!

And, at this point, maybe it's time to use the new "split thread" feature of the new system. :)
Quote from: Pas RapportI don't need a dick in my anus to know I absolutely don't want a dick in my anus.
[/size]

Weak2ndAct

Well, I finally saw 'Home Movie,' Chris Smith's latest flick following the masterpiece 'American Movie.'  And what a gigantic, earth-shattering disappointment this was.  This could be the laziest documentary filmmaking I've ever seen.

The movie is essentially interviews w/ five people who have bizarre homes.  They talk vaguely about their lives and what inspired them to transform their domicile into something unique.  What's incredibly LAZY about the movie is that we just get interview segs in order (5 mins. w/ guy in Louisiana, then someone in Illinois, then someone in blah blah), and once we've met all the people, we just keep the rotation going.  There is little or no attempt to connect the people or their lives (almost all have had some sort of tragedy that spurned decisions, the homes share similarities, and each have bizarre passions).  At a whopping 65 minutes, Smith makes nary an attempt to get below the surface and see what actually makes these eccentric people tick.  

The most insulting part of the editing is that at the 'end' of the movie, one couple talks about how someone wanted to buy their home, and over their dialogue about how their refusal and love for their house, we get brief intercuts of each other story.

That's it.  That's the extent of the filmmaking this movie has to offer.  The humor is slight at best.

2 things that should be noted:
- Sarah Price had nothing to do with the movie (my guess, they broke up after AM became successful).
- The whole 'movie' (and I use quotes b/c even motherfuckin' Inspector Gadget has a longer running time) was inspired from 5 tv spots that Smith did for some internet-home-store-company (which are on the dvd).  The spots have more artfulness and humor than the movie.  Sad sad sad.

Sebastian Haff

Wow. How sad to read.

Have you, by chance, seen "American Job", Chris and Sarah's movie before American Movie? I keep thinking about ordering it but haven't yet.

Weak2ndAct

Haven't seen "American Job," will get around to it one of these days.

Sebastian Haff

I caught this last night, and I couldn't agree with Weak 2nd Act's comments more.

It was interesting to view, and the characters were very interesting, but I think you hit the nail on the head when you called it "lazy filmmaking."

Chris's off-camera questions were just plain bad. Definitely a huge, huge disappointment after the greatness of American Movie.

clerkguy23

I know this is an old topic, but just for anyone who is wondering about American Job... it's really not very good. Some parts of kind of funny, but it's wayyy too long and pretty boring, for the most part. On the other hand, American Movie is absolutely great.  Do you think it's because of Chris Smith's subjects or because he's actually a good filmmaker? Because Home Movie wasn't very wonderful either.

UncleJoey

The Yes Men (the latest from Smith and Price, along with Dan Ollman), on the other hand, is great. You can see it at various film festivals now and last I heard, it hits theaters in August. Go see it when you get the chance.
Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things: Jack and shit . . . and Jack just left town.

UncleJoey

Trailer for The Yes Men here

Actually, this trailer is pretty awful. Trust me, the movie is much better than this thing makes it seem.
Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things: Jack and shit . . . and Jack just left town.

Ravi

I agree with Weak2ndAct's review of Home Movie.  The subjects here are interesting, but there's no point in watching these people talk about their homes unless some sub-surface-level conclusions are drawn about these people and why they've chosen their lifestyles.  The film is quite shallow in its representation of the people.   It rotely cycles through the five homes, and we never really get to know the inhabitants of any one of the homes well since the film is only 65 minutes long.  This film can't be just about the homes.  It should be about the homeowners as well.

OTOH it only cost me $1.99.  If anyone wants my copy, its a great film to add to your collection.