Saturday, April 8, 2017

Jason goes to SFFILM--Opening Night

The biggest party of the year started last Wednesday night, and of course I was there. One quick note, for people who are used to seeing me post this time of year (or a few weeks later) about SFIFF...this is the same thing, rebranded as SFFILM, and the festival is moved to early April.

After the opening remarks and thank-yous from SFFILM Executive Director Noah Cowan, and an introduction from Director of Programming Rachel Rosen, we settled in for the film.

LANDLINE is a very funny comedy about a screwed up family in the 90s (you know, back when landline telephones were a thing.) Mom and Dad (Edie Falco and John Turturro) have a failing marriage, she thinks he's a failure, he's having an affair. Youngest daughter Dana (Jenny Slate) is nervous about marrying her boyfriend Ben (Jay Duplass) and reconnects with her old college friend Nate (Finn Wittrock.) And youngest daughter Ali (Abby Quinn) goes out clubbing and is on drugs--and she's the normal one. Hilarity ensues, as everyone attempts to follow their own bliss, not exactly caring about who they hurt along the way. Until it becomes clear they are hurting the very people who keep them grounded--their personal landlines--and they attempt to navigate their way back. They're probably not the sort of people I would want to know in real life, but they're certainly entertaining to watch for 96 minutes.

Then a short discussion and Q&A with Jenny Slate, Abby Quinn, and writer/producer Elisabeth Holm. With Rachel Rosen leading the discussion, it was pretty cool to see four smart, talented, funny women talking on stage.

Then over to the Regency Center for the after party. A little food, a lot of drinks, and investing some new people into IAM-Intrepid Audience Members. As the official west coast proxy for this not-very-secret society, I have pins to give out if you're willing to take an oath, learn a handshake, and be intrepid in your support of the arts. Hey, you know where's a great place to do that? At the SFFILM Festival! Just look for the guy with the big hair and top hat who sits in the front row.

Running Time: 96 minutes
My Total Minutes: 425,137

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