Whew! Characters, situation, scenario, dialog, behavior and movies in general do not come much dumber than
LADYWORLD, a film co-written (with
Benjamin Shearn) and directed by
Amanda Kramer that hit theaters earlier this month and is now available on VOD/DVD.
The pre-visual opening -- in which we hear the sounds of what might be the apocalypse or perhaps just a large, out-of-control land-mover -- is by far the best thing about the movie, after which we see the apparent results of this "event," which strands a group of girls who seem not to know each other yet one of whose birthday they are soon celebrating (as below). Ah, kids!
If you are at all familiar with the blog of
TrustMovies, you'll know that he does not generally direct his ire at fledgling filmmakers, and he is trying his best not to do so here. But this is a losing battle, having just sat through what seems like the worst film he has seen in his adult life so far. It does not work on any level -- realistic, symbolic, as fable, prediction, warning, nor even, god help us, as camp.
As conceived by Ms Kramer, shown at right, these girls make almost no intelligent effort to get out of the house in which they're suddenly trapped. Even if we decide that the film is not meant to be taken realistically, then why do they seem to care so much but do so little? Except, of course, scream and yell and act in an utterly insufferable manner -- even for teens (who, as is often the case, look a decade older that they ought).
I cannot recall a movie with worse dialog. It's almost as though Kramer and Shearn are deliberately trying to set our teeth on edge, while giving their characters ever more reason to be "dramatic." There is enough screaming, yelling and stupidity here to fill a dozen
Dumb and Dumbers but only a single trace of humor. (Even of the unintentional sort: Yes, it's
that bad.)
Normally I'd point out a movie's cast members, but I don't want to inflict any more damage. Maybe I'm just a typical man who can't or won't appreciate what women must go through in this world, though I do wonder how many women would get behind something this wrong-headed? Comparison has been made with this film and a certain classic entitled
Lord of the Flies. Well, OK. But then please refer to this one as
Lord of the Gnats.
To its credit, the film does have one moment of humor, as either the filmmaker or her cinematographer (
Patrick Meade Jones) captures a parody of
da Vinci's The Last Supper. From
MVD Entertainment Group and running 94 minutes,
Ladyworld hit the street on DVD and digital yesterday, August 27 -- for purchase and (maybe) rental.
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