Steve Coogan and Catherine Keener in "Hamlet 2"
(Credit: Sundance)
On Sunday, the last official day of the festival, all of the award winners will screen and then Sundance 2008 will officially be history.
It's always difficult to predict what the jury will select for prizes in the dramatic competition. This year's group includes filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Mary Harron ("American Psycho") and actors Marcia Gay Harden, Diego Luna ("Y tu mama tambien") and Sandra Oh.
Having seen 10 of the 16 competition films I expect some sort of recognition for "Sugar," "Phoebe in Wonderland," "American Son" and the arty "Ballast." The first three are also strong contenders for the audience award, with '90s set coming of age story "The Wackness" also seen as an audience favorite.
But since general awards are decided on by the small group of people in the jury even the disappointing "Sunshine Cleaning" or the generally reviled "Downloading Nancy" could pick up some sort of honor.
One film that won't be winning any awards is "Hamlet 2" (it's in the "premieres" section and not in competition), though the filmmakers could probably care less since the movie scored the biggest sale of this year's fest (and second biggest in Sundance history after "Little Miss Sunshine").
Focus picked up the broad comedy starring Brit comedian Steve Coogan for $10 million, but given the quality of the actual film the hysteria around its sale is rather depressing.
Coogan is fitfully amusing as a pathetic high school drama teacher who hopes to inspire his students and save the school's endangered theater program. But the jokes are so uneven—complete with lots of lame physical comedy and stale shots at gay and Latino characters—and the plot so paper thin that this might as well be the latest starring vehicle for a "Saturday Night Live" cast member hoping for movie stardom. And it's going to look a lot less funny when it's competing against bigger movies with bigger stars in the real marketplace.
A cult following is assured and repeated airings on Comedy Central are inevitable, but don't be surprised if "Hamlet 2" winds up making less at the box office than some other Sundance '08 film that was acquired for less.
That movie won't be "Quid Pro Quo," although the bizarre little drama will appeal to those looking for fresh ideas. Nick Stahl stars as a wheelchair bound journalist who stumbles upon an underground world of people who pretend to be handicapped, because that's how they feel inside. Stahl enters into a relationship with one of them, played by "The Departed" co-star Vera Farmiga, and both actors are excellent as their characters slowly begin to switch places. The basic story might have been amazing in the hands of a cinematic visionary like David Lynch or David Cronenberg, but "Quid Pro Quo" ultimately tries too hard to provide rational explanations for its most bizarre concepts.
British prison break thriller "The Escapist" is more conventional, though it has the interesting conceit of playing out a prison escape with the build-up to the escape simultaneously. Too many twists spoil the suspense but director Rupert Wyatt positions himself as a less-flashy Guy Ritchie and Brian Cox (who also stars in "Red") gives his second strong performance of the festival as the brains behind the prison break.
Only two days to go and I'll be back with one more update on the award winners and a few more movies.
Add a comment