For Mark Lewis, growing up in the
nineties was pretty dank. Shot in eight days for ten thousand dollars, his
movie Wild Girl Waltz claims to have gone for the feel of nineties indie films like
Slacker (1991), Dazed And Confused (1993) and the much celebrated Clerks (1994),
minus the expensive soundtrack, or a GamesMaster golden joystick. Regarded by
many critics as one of the best Indies of the year so far, is it time to put on
our dancing shoes – a pair of Nike Air Max 90, perhaps - or throw that once
cherished Furby at the television set?
Tara (Samantha Steinmetz) and
Angie (Christina Shipp) are bored of small time life. Deciding to liven up
proceedings they escape the monotony by taking some ‘goofy pills’.
Over the course of the next few
hours, Brian (Jared Stern) is stuck baby-sitting them until they come down from
their righteous high. He takes them on a road trip more phantasmal than thoroughfare.
Comedic mayhem ensues…
You must have some balls to
compare your film to Clerks. Whereas Kevin Smith’s debut – about a day in the
life of two convenience clerks – hit the mark with countless gags and
on-the-ball observations, Lewis forgets the jokes for the main part but wins us
over with three charismatic leads you would love to hang out with. For a while
at least. Whether or not you take the goofy pills is entirely up to you, but in
hindsight, using a pie for sweet revenge after an opening incident involving
milkshake hardly justifies an 82-minute journey that covers the course of one
uneventful road-trip.
The budget certainly doesn’t
allow for much spectacle. Fortunately, most viewers will relate to one if not
all of our leads, and Lewis is good with dialogue, showcasing an impressive and
natural skill for banter that will eventually win you over. But it could
just be a flimsy narrative that prefers improvisation rather than scripted
exchange. The film certainly has a sitcom feel about it, which finally works once we have
got to know our three leads that little bit better.
Although there’s no standout
scene, or laugh out loud moments if we’re totally honest, there’s something quite
charming about hanging out with Tara, Angie and Brian; rather like those people
you meet on holiday, when on your return you add them on Facebook but never
actually find that free date in your diary to meet up because, actually, they
were dicks.
Angie is the biggest oddity. Forever haunted by a
drive-by redneck pelting a milkshake in her face (feeling like “the floor of a
movie theatre”), she doesn’t quite win over the audience like Tara and Brian
do, helped by a quirky romance that feels more natural than those you see in
everyday life. Brian, who in theory should be the least interesting character
in the film (nobody likes the sober guy), is the most watchable, encouraged by some
nice lines (I’ll give you a drink, an ass drink” isn’t one of them) and a
brilliant speech about restraining orders after he’s punched a woman in the
face. She deserved it.
A light comedy that’s light on comedy; a slice of life that isn’t riveting enough
to warrant so much time spent on it, or money, Wild Girl Waltz struggles with a story without foundation, and ten minutes of film could easily be discarded thanks to unnecessary
interludes of random footage interspersed with rather jolly country music.
There is humour here, and credit has to be given to the director for allowing
us to laugh along with the characters rather than at them all the time. That
said there just aren’t that many one-liners to keep you entertained. It would
have been nice to find out what happened to the guy with the pie.
Instead, there’s a rather pointless confrontation between Brian and Ernie, a
guy who owes him a lot of money. It offers nothing to the already twiggy plot
and soon becomes a distant memory as the story moves forward.
Ernie is not the only character
going nowhere. It may be Mrs Wolverton’s pie that eventually takes centre
stage, but a five-minute conversation between her and the two girls is
meaningless; they could have just bought the pie from a service station
and at least had some fun with the convenience clerks (a chance wasted). More
filler than killer, Wild Girl Waltz offers reward only when its three leads are
on form; or perhaps, when Brian and Tara are on screen.
On the one hand, it’s
heartening to see a director make a film in which not a lot happens. On the
other hand… well, it’s not very exciting, is it? At its best, it’s like watching the
funniest episode of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, a British comedy
television series that ran for ten years and had ten jokes in its entirety. At
its worst, it’s like the Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps drinking
game, in which you can only down a shot when somebody laughs. Still, it’s more
effective than a goofy pill.
Despite its flaws – nothing happens,
not very funny, too much filler – you won’t be able to bring yourself to
entirely hate Wild Girl Waltz because (a) the three leads are endearing and (b)
it does have some rather mawkish country music in it. And it will make you
appreciate the simple things in life. And you will pull out your VHS copy of
Clerks before emitting a wistful sigh. DW
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