I got the opportunity to see this film at the deadCenter Film Festival in Oklahoma City a couple weeks ago and talk to the filmmakers afterward. If you get the chance to see it at a local film festival or screening, do your self a favor and go.
After their step-mother buries their father in Texas (against his wishes), the Stanton brothers decide to dig him up and bury him in his native Enid, Oklahoma. Mark and Brian, the two older brothers, all-around screw-ups, and neredowells, forcibly recruit their academically obsessed little brother, exhume the coffin, and hit the road. Along the way, they run in to a rather tense cop, a few attractive girls, deal with their strained relationships with each other, and ultimately stand firm against the consequences of their decisions.
This is not a big Hollywood movie. The sound isn't well mixed. The acting could have used a few more takes here and there. And the camera and lighting work, while competent, won't be winning any awards anytime soon...
BUT
...the story is there, delightful, and is rich-fully satisfying in the end. The humor in this movie is a mix of crass one-liners and well-juxtaposed situations. Big-budget Hollywood films spend $100 million and fall flat on their faces trying to get the emotional response these filmmakers got with a small bank loan, a couple credit cards, and a daring attempt to make a feature length film with only four crew members. They should be praised for even thinking of taking that risk. Far too many filmmakers and Hollywood executives and independent investors set out to make movies for the sake and prestige of making movies. Mark Potts and his cohorts set out to tell a story as best they could and I'll take their freshman attempt at film-making over a very long list of studio projects.
Your opportunity to see this film will probably very limited, but if you by chance see a flier for a screening or it appears at your local film festival, see it. And with any luck, someone will get smart and give these guys a real budget-they can't do any worse than what Hollywood is putting out right now anyway...
