Spork

So, I watched this as a result of a Netflix recommendation and the movie looked so crazily unique that I couldn't pass it up. This is a microbudget indie from first time writer/director J.B. Ghuman back in 2010.

Ok so here is a brief synopsis of the movie; It's about a 14 year old hermaphrodite who identifies as a girl who lives in a trailer park after her mother died. Her only friends are her stuffed dog and neighbor, Tootsie Roll. Amid constant bullying at school, she decides to enter a dance competition with Tootsie Roll's help. With the support of her unemployed brother and mother who's buried in their yard, she finds the courage to stand up to the group of blonde-haired girls who worship Britnery Spears at her school.

The story deals with tons of controversial issues, however it's always upbeat and quirky and deeply rooted in comedy. The main character is so crazy, frazzled, and dirty, yet you empathize with her immediately. All of the other characters in the movie are so very colorful and interesting from the 'love interest' who adores Justin Timberlake, the strung out brother's girlfriend, to the boy who hand writes the fortunes for the cookies at his mother's Chinese restaurant. The story is not very predictable and the dialogue really plays on the issues at hand. Oh, and there's a musical sequence!

The movie was so colorful and fresh that it was just a blast to watch. There were some really great cinematic choices, with the hand-drawn CGI, 80's and 90's references, musical sequences, obvious stunt doubles, etc. As you can see from the pictures, the coloring and framing of the movie was very beautiful. The soundtrack was also extremely unique, but fit in well with the rest of the film.

Most of the actors in the film were teenagers and they did fairly well given their ages. There were likable and kept your interest throughout the film. The characters were so out there that it would be hard for anyone to pull off those roles flawlessly.

In the end, this was a hugely unique and well done microbudget indie. The effort and money was well spent in all aspects of the film, instead of just one as some of the other micros seem to do. This movie really easily could have spun out of control but the director kept the focus in the right direction and it didn't get too crazy. Even though the plot sounded like something foreign, it turned out to be a very relatable movie. It's definitely not a film for everyone though, but if an energetic 80's and 90's themed Napoleon Dynamite sounds interesting to you, then I'd recommend this film.