We rendezvous up in the main fest room, we can snag some more of the White Out post cards. Jon says something to Amanda that I can’t hear.
“So get some,” she replies. He gets all bashful.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“What do you want?”
“He wants popcorn.”
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do.”
“You want popcorn, Jon?”
“No.”
I frown. Because I know damn well that Jon does want popcorn and his pride is getting in the way. I walk over to the table with the popcorn. “Nat, can I have some popcorn.” He nods, distracted by other things and hands me a bag. “There’s your popcorn. We’ve got a movie to see.”
Jon, Amanda, Michelle and I meet up with Mike and Jon on our way back into the Crown Plaza theater to see our next film. I insist that they have to see Alternative tomorrow, and tell them I won’t take no for an answer.
“Though,” I tell them, “the track was a bit on the depressing side, what with two shorts and the feature having suicide in them.”
“Great, that’s all I need,” says Mike.
The short comes up. “Mail Fantasies” about the class war between 1st and 2nd class mailmen. The best I can say about the film is that it doesn’t look like what it seems to be, a bunch of buddies getting together to make a film in an afternoon that they’ll all enjoy thoroughly later that night but likely shouldn’t show other people. It’s light and silly, and just felt amateurish. “It’s nothing like Midlothia,” Mike assures me. Midlothia is the last film from this director and it took all the top prizes at last year’s MicrocinemaFest. He assures me I’ll like that one. Another needed film from the MicrocinemaFest secret stash.
The main film begins. Another doc. Weiner Takes All. Several years ago there was a commercial featuring Kimmy Robertson of Twin Peaks fame in which a couple argues between watching the Westminster Dog Show and a NASCAR race. There’s a scuffle, and the TV is hit by the beer, combining the two into the “Weinerdog Weinernationals.” They’re amazed by what the beer (I think it was Bud Light) can do and settle in to enjoy their new show. Who knew when that ad first aired that it would actually spawn the world of competitive weinerdog racing? It did, and it’s huge now. Well, not huge, but more popular than you would think it would be. Weiner plays like the brilliant Christopher Guest mockumentary Best In Show, but this isn’t a mockumentary. When you’re horrified by these people, you know they’re real. They actually believe their dog owns the house and lets them live there. Even at a svelte running time of 86 minutes, the film feels overlong. And since it’s about weinerdogs, it can sometimes get confusing as to just who Noodles and Pretzel are. It also takes a surprising (and upsetting) detour into the tragic killing of greyhounds after greyhound racing became popular. Before I walked into the theater today, I’d never seen a dog put to sleep. Now I have. It’s quite upsetting. And because this isn’t part of the greater point this light and fun documentary is making, this should be excised to craft a better film. Weiner had by far the largest audience I’d seen at the festival. What can I say, they’ve got weiner dogs on their poster. (see fig. t) Everybody likes weiner dogs. If the euthanasia scene is removed, that’d cut a good 5-6 minutes off the run time and then it might be just right.
We wander back into the filmmakers' lounge to get some pizza and recuperate. It’s oddly exhausting watching so many movies in a row. Especially when you’re as intently listening for laughter as you are at your own film.
“Jon, self-promotion mode!” He walks to each of the tables and hands people postcards, asking them to come see our film. We all agree that we should stay after White Out to see the festival’s big film: Wristcutters: A Love Story, which has been on the festival circuit for the better part of a year now.
