Use of Budget
I’m actually quite surprised at this film’s budget, as it seems awfully high. I don’t know exactly where the money went, although the director did mention that they hired a Steadicam operator, which I’m sure was not cheap. However, I didn’t even know there was a Steadicam involved in production, as there aren’t a whole lot of unique shots. To spend that much money and not have it show in the production is a bit of a disappointment. Granted, moving shots are very complicated to set up, which can be compounded by working with child actors, but there should have been at least a few shots that showed off the great things that a Steadicam can do.
Either way, I honestly think that for $60,000 this film should have both a better script and structure, not to mention a cameo by The Donald.
Lasting Appeal
The director had many good things to say about his cast of child actors, about their passion and desire to work. This is certainly something to brag about, as one often recalls the old adage about working with children. However, all the passion in the world won’t rescue a film that has poor structure to begin with.
The Ringo Bingo Kid has good potential, but its current format makes it hard for an audience to stay interested. At the very least it needs re-editing with some re-looped narration; possibly even condensed. My advice would be to hire a new editor who wasn’t involved in the production of the film – preferably one with screenwriting experience – who can take a look at both the script and the raw footage and come up with a better version. It may involve some re-shooting and probably a lot of looped dialogue, but the end result will be much, much better.
Overall Comment
This film has the potential for a great family drama – many kids have dreams that they hope will come true someday, and presenting the possibility that dreams actually do come true through perseverance and hard work is a theme sadly lost on many movies these days. While it does still need some work, there is certainly a lot of possibility for such a story, and it’s one that ought to be told.
