jfgibson73

Whatever you do, do NOT forget the cheese.

I can see why this movie gets such a high rating. It does things that very few movies from any genre are willing to do: it doesn't give you easy answers, and it doesn't resovle every plotline with a neat bow. It gets you to care about the characters, then it forces you to sit with the consequences of their choices. It's very well-made and really well-acted, although I wouldn't say any one performance stands out. The performers are careful to not do anything to.make you question their credibility, and they don't do anything to really draw your attention away from the story, so no one has any big dramatic moment (except for maybe the final moments). My favorite ended up being Jada Pinkett Smith as Ronnie, who was sweet and understanding, but could turn fierce the moment her young son was involved. There are a lot of options for coming-of-age stories about characters in this part of California, and I don't think I would say this one is the best, but it kept me engaged, and I don't think I'll be forgetting it any time soon.

This movie started out fine and had some good ideas sprinkled throughout. However, it really takes too long for the main storyline to kick in. Then, it just becomes a repetitive loop of stops and starts, cycling through the same basic situation. Even though they had written some pretty outrageous scenarios, the best moments of the movie had no impact because nothing was properly built up. The filmmakers really needed to have few more rewrites done before shooting started. So instead of a cult classic full of iconic scenes, we get a below average satire that becomes a chore to sit through. I really wanted to like it, but you can't just come up with a few good parts, rush to pad out the rest of the story, and then expect people to care.

I was at least 30 minutes into Frankie Freako before I realized I was watching a new film by the writer and director of both Psycho Goreman AND Heart of Karl. I don't know how I could be so irresponsible--I should have had the release date on my calendar months ago!

So this story didn't quite grab me the way some of his past work did. There wasn't really a character that kept me cracking up all the way through on the level of a Mimi, or a PG. My favorite moments were probably with the supervisor played by Adam Brooks--he always seems to find a way to inject wacky, unexpected humor into his scenes. There were plenty of all-star cameos, but I didn't pick up on them until looking over the credits. I was also kind of surprised that the title character didn't really end up doing too many wild, outrageous things. But my sense is that fans of Kostanski's unique world-building will have fun with this one.