THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
It's recently come to my attention that some of the
filmmakers whose work I've reviewed actually read this
site (W.M. Pace, the director of Charming Billy
sent me a very nice email in response to my thankfully
positive review of his film.) Since Jeff Winner,
director of You Are Here* states in his
"director's introduction" that he doesn't want people
to come up to him at a party and tell him that they
don't like his movie, I only thought it fair to
address this issue here. I don't want to hurt anyone's
feelings and apologize in advance for any pain I
cause.
There. I feel better now that I got that out in the
open. As for Jeff Winner's You Are Here*, I
didn't like it. Winner may think that he's offering
insight into the minds and lives of disenchanted
twenty-somethings with no professional prospects and
no ambition, but really the film just drags on from
one drawn out scene to the next. Extended sections
feature the characters droning on and on about
nothing. In fact, the opening voice-over already warns
the audience that the film won't tell them anything
that they don't already know. That's a bad sign. If
you have nothing new to add, why make the movie at
all?
Because Jeff belongs to the class of filmmakers that
think they should make movies simply because they feel they deserve to,
that's why. They grew up on Scorsese and Jarmusch and
Spike and think that because they know screenplay
format they oughta be in pictures. You Are Here*
has a few interesting moments (mostly provided by the
cast), but the vast majority of the running time is
taken up by the angsty longings of spoiled, shallow
characters.
Of the four main characters, Moe (Todd Peters) and
Jason (Randall Jaynes) are boring and inert. The
actors aren't bad but they have nothing to work with.
Caroline Hall makes her Sallie a lively and attractive
city gal, but her role is severely under utilized.
Only Ajay Naidu (who also plays a worker bee in
Office Space) gets to have any fun. His Sunjay
may have an advanced degree in Political Science but
his extreme lack of ambition has dropped him in the
world of Xerox toner. There is something sweet and
unpredictable about Naidu, whose on-screen persona is
pretty unique. It may just be that by balancing the
stereotypical cultural expectations of his family
with his lack of drive (and eventual self-discovery)
he crafts a deeper, more complex character, but his is
the only one who registers.
Another big problem with You Are Here* is that
it was shot on digital video. It looks awful. I
understand that it's cheaper, but there has got to be
a point where the lack of quality outweighs the
savings. I mean, toilet paper is cheaper than turkey
but if you try to eat a TP sandwich you end up
with a mouth full of soggy spit balls. The images, drained
of color and life, are so ugly that they help derail
this already overly talky movie.
VIDEO:
The video, taken from digital video, is widescreen.
The cinematography is ugly and drab and the images
presented here have the gummy, grainy look of video
that wasn't shot under the best circumstances and
wasn't mastered for DVD with great skill or care.
AUDIO:
The audio is muddy and tough to decipher at times. No
subtitles are available, which is a shame. The nonstop
rock score gets a bit repetitive, but the audio mix on
much of the music has punch and range that the film's
diagetic mix wishes it had.
EXTRAS:
A director's statement features Jeff Winner shopping
for toilet paper and has something of a surprise
ending. It also features his plea for gentle handling
from his critics. He also delivers a commentary track
along with cohort Rick Barliss which is actually
surprisingly interesting. The guys are easygoing and
friendly and explain a lot about the process of making
their film. While it's understandable that most people
probably won't get deep enough into You are
Here* to listen to the commentary, it's kind of
rewarding for those that do.
A trailer and a photo gallery are also included.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
There is nothing wrong with film hopefuls grabbing
cameras and shooting their scripts. In fact, that
willingness and ability to circumvent the Hollywood
machine can yield great results. You Are Here*,
however, adds little to the crowded film marketplace
and serves only to highlight why so many indie films
fail: They don't have a clear idea of the story
they're telling.
Buy: