SCN goes mainstream: Caldera, Garrido & Valor's sweet, goofy GHOST GRADUATION

What is it about the afterlife that attracts so many movie-makers (not to mention audiences)? I mean, really -- we know nothing about it, but that doesn't stop us from imagining. Yes, of course: It's a way to cheat death. Even if the whole idea is complete nonsense we can still bask in the possibility of some sort of continuation once we're finished. I'm musing on this subject because two of the sweetest films I've seen in quite a while are both ghost-related: Ferzan Ozpetek's wonderful Magnificent Presence (click and scroll down), from this year's Open Roads festival, and now the less meaty, but charming and delightful GHOST GRADUATION (Promoción fantasma) which had its one and only screening last Friday night as part of Spanish Cinema Now.

In this alternately funny, cute, gross and romantic comedy -- written by Cristóbal Garrido and Adolfo Valor, and directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera (shown at right) -- a school teacher who, all his life, appears to have been able to see and relate to ghosts, is placed in a high school where five of these "beings" -- students who were killed in a fire 20 years ago --  are wreaking havoc on teachers and staff. (They seem to leave the "live" students alone. Professional courtesy, I guess.)

Turns out the ghosts have unfinished business to take care of, which means, in the teacher's mind at least, graduation. The ghosts, however, are not so sure.

In the leading role of the teacher, one of our favorite actors and a staple at SCN, Raúl Arévalo, does his usual terrific job without seeming to break a sweat. He's charming and funny and sexy and helpless, winning us over in a flash.

Arévalo is supported by a fine cast that includes Aura Garrido (above, and just seen at SCN in The Body) as a live student who falls in love with one of the ghosts and Alexandra Jiménez (below, right) as the principal of the school, who falls in love with Arévalo.

Also on view is the very funny Carlos Areces (below, of The Last Circus and last year's Extraterrestrial), as what appears to exist in Spain as something like the PTA president.

I make no grand claims for this very mainstream Spanish movie. Yet, taken on its own terms, it is quite enjoyable. Compared to what most of our Hollywood people might do with the same subject, Ghost Graduation comes off as a surprisingly sweet and generous movie.

The film played only once at this year's SCN, but because its opening frames sported the Fox International logo, I suspect there is a chance that we'll be able to see it again over here on DVD. Let's hope so, as it'll make a lot of people smile.

Rom-Com fest continues as Korean Cultural Center offers MY GIRLFRIEND'S AN AGENT

If there's any doubt -- after last week's screening of Cyrano Agency -- that South Korea excels at rom-coms every bit as easily as it does at dark crime flicks, the coming week's showing of MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN AGENT should lay them to rest for good. If Girlfriend is not as creative or surprising as Cyrano, it's such frothy good fun that I doubt you'll mind a bit. Opening in the top slot at the Korean box-office and staying in the top ten for over two months, this Asian version of Doug Liman's anything-but-light-on-its-feet Mr. & Mrs. Smith (one of its many posters titled this Korean rendition Mr. and Mrs Lee) proves twice as much fun, with almost none of the deadening, smart-ass attitude of the Pitt-Jolie fiasco. 

Combining surprise and disguise (the gun-toting bride, above), unrequited love, adventure, thrills and comedy with one of those nasty viruses that could wipe out the whole world, the movie has not one shred of believability -- which is all to the good. You can relax and giggle while you take in the scenery (including the very enjoyable and hot stars, Kim Ha Neul and Kang Ji-Hwan), the spectacle and the comedy.

Mr. Kang, in particular proves a most adept leading man, as funny as he is sexy, and the crack supporting cast is all to the good. For what the movie does with its delightful display of fencing/dancing (above), I think you'll be glad you stayed. And there's plenty more where that came from.

Offering a terrific gunfight in a fun house and several near-love scenes (we never quite get up to the point of coitus interruptus), My Girlfriend culminates in a spectacular chase and fight sequence that's as much fun as it is exhilharating and fast-paced.

Part of the continuing Korean Movie Night series, My Girlfriend Is An Agent (New York Premiere, 2009) screens free this coming Tuesday, March 27, at 7pm.  

Remember: Korean Movie Night, brought to you by the Korean Cultural Service of New York,  screens every other Tuesday at 7pm at Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street, on the corner of Canal Street, one block from the A, C, E and 1 train Canal Street stops). Admission is free, but all seating is first-come, first served.  Doors open at 6:30pm.

DIY: Ana Zins' HEAD OVER SPURS IN LOVE proves an alternately perky/jerky rom-com

How you find distribution for a relatively standard romantic comedy without any "names" attached?  That's the problem facing filmmaker Ana Zins and her new movie HEAD OVER SPURS IN LOVE.  If you find that title a bit much -- not really all that funny or germane to much that we see in the film, which is based mostly in Texas with a family/business named Spur, but so what? -- you should know that it reflects the movie all too well. This is a typical romantic comedy in which the meant-for-each-other lovers are kept apart for the entire film due to barely-believable plot machinations and character flaws, none of which finally matter because, well, love conquers all. Shot in 21 days (18 in L.A. and three in Texas) on an under-one-million budget, with the director, Ms Zins doing triple duty as producer and co-writer (with Sheryl Umayam), the movie is not a bad example of rom-com. In fact, it's a perfectly OK genre time-waster -- but one that offers little that's novel or original and that might induce unusual word-of-mouth.

Compare this with one of my favorites in this genre -- Seven Girlfriends -- and you'll see exactly what I mean.  That one has a great premise and script, terrific performances, and solid follow-through. Even then, and with a bunch of "names" in the cast, it never found theatrical distribution here in the US and had to rely on cable broadcasts to build its audience.

Ms Zins, shown at right, has certainly used her budget to good effect. Every dollar shows. And she has cast the film well, with an eye toward good chemistry between the actors, as you'll read in her intelligent and thoughtful explana-tion, below. Her actors -- from left to right, as shown the poster above: Leena Huff, Daniel Bonjour, Jen Lilley and Jesse Wayne Johnson (son of Don Johnson and Patti D'Arbanville) -- are all good-looking, appealing performers who can act, so there's no problem there. It's what they are given to say and do that makes the movie less than it might have been. The dialog is prosaic at best and seldom rises above that. The worst example is the speech Mr Bonjour must give from the podium at the pre-wedding dinner. It's meant to be embarrassing, and it is -- but it's also not funny or very believable. And it goes on and on.

Visually, the film is generally unremarkable, as well, though there are a couple of very funny visual moments along the way. One of these involves waking up from a debauched night-before wearing Santa Claus attire, the other using a hotel porter in a very funny manner to gain access to a locked hotel room. The film could have used more of this sort of thing to add the necessary com to its rom. The romance is certainly there, thanks to Bonjour and Huff, who make a very appealing pair. Lilley and Johnson are less so, mostly thanks to her obnoxious character traits which go completely unremarked upon, not to mention unpunished (well, this is rom-com) and his being given a character who changes direction/
motivation/intention on a dime.

Around two-thirds of the way through, a new character is introduced, and for a few moments the movie seems to perk a bit: a different color palette is introduced, along with an actor (Hal Ozsan) with excess energy and a crazy accent. There's some been-there/done-that satire on Texas (guns, homophobia and Christianity) along the way and by the feel-good ending, if you've got a bone in your body that responds to romantic comedy, it will be reacting, mildly at least.

But how will you ever see this film so that your rom-com bones get the chance to react?  Head Over Spurs... was recently shown as part of the Los Angeles Women's International Film Festival at the end of March and, according to the director/producer, all involved are now waiting to learn if the film has been accepted in any other upcoming fests. I would think that chances for theatrical distribution remain slim, but there is always DVD, VOD and streaming possibilities.

After receiving the screener of the film (but before viewing it), I asked its director about her film's provenance and why she chose to use unknowns in the cast. Below is what she had to say:

When I chose to make this picture, I knew, based on my experience as a Screener for some of the top-tier festivals, that commercial-mainstream indie romantic comedies have a tougher time getting programmed, hence getting that crucial buzz needed to gain industry attention. Festivals tend to be drawn more toward avant-garde, counter cultural, dark films and documentaries. Which is great, but I was determined to stay true to my sensibilities as a filmmaker, and I love romantic comedies. I also knew casting unknowns for the leads was going to be an uphill battle when it came time to getting the film out into the market place. Distributors want movie stars, especially in romantic comedies. But for me, chemistry between the actors was key, and the more established talent wouldn’t even consider auditioning for an indie film unless we made them an offer up front, which could have been disastrous without the right chemistry. So, I was willing to take a chance on up and coming talent, and I’m confident my decision will pay off. Once people see the movie and these actors, I know they will love it.     .....Ana Zins

Galt Niederhoffer's THE ROMANTICS opens: a rom-com without much of either

What a shame for THE ROMANTICS -- the Galt Niederhoffer-directed, -written (from her novel) and -coproduced romantic comedy -- that it opens on the same day as Heartbreaker, the new French rom-com that is as sterling an example of the genre as has graced  theaters in some time.  Comparisons may be odious -- and a little unfair -- but there you are.  If Heartbreakers is, for now, the current pinnacle of this much-trod genre, The Romantics is, at least, not its nadir.  The movie isn't very good, but it does boast a game cast (wasted though most of them unfortunately are), together with a few choice moments along the way.

The best of these moments (above) occurs nearly at the finale, making one realize that funerals should not be the only one of life's big events that the movies insist always take place in the rain. Another is the showdown between a very weak protagonist (essayed by Katie Holmes two photos below, at far right, who doubles as one of the film's executive producers) and her antagonist (played by Anna Paquin, two photos below, center left). There is something other than idle chatter in this particular scene, and so our ears prick up.

I expect that the novel by Ms Niederhoffer (pictured at left) offered stronger characterization and more depth.  Reduced to 95 minutes, including credtis, the movie is all surface, as a group of college chums reunites for the wedding of two of them.  From the outset, as one of the members (played by Malin Åkerman in what is becoming her signature slut mode) pushes the Holmes character to spill the necessary exposition (so we'll know what's going on: Åkerman's character would certainly have known this information already), the movie is a tad too obvious.  Its premise, when set against that of the highly original one in Heartbreaker, is unoriginal to say the least-- mismatched lovers: Will they or won't they tie the knot? Actually, all the characters seem mis-matched. Perhaps that is the point: post-college kids falling too easily into inappropriate relationships. What else is new?

The movie also seems to feature a nearly unending soundtrack -- one of those films in which music and songs try to fill in for content. Much of the babble between characters is also not worth hearing. One of my notes scribled during the screening asks, When do we start to care about any of these people?  Bad news: We never do. They're more often seen primping than thinking.  It appears that nearly everything in each of their lives so far has been a mistake. So why not this latest endeavor, as well? Good question.

The Romantics features an ensemble cast in which no one, other than the leads, makes a mark -- except Elijah Wood (above, center), who is simply awful in a one-note "drunk" role. Adam Brody, one of my favorite young actors, has a nothing role that nearly any other actor could have played just as easily. (See Mr. Brody in Death in Love to discover what he's capable of.)  In the male lead, Josh Duhamel (below, left, with Ms Holmes) is cute, but his character is even weaker and more lame than those of his two leading ladies.  And Candice Bergen as "mom" has little to do and even less worthwhile to say.

Still, any movie that replaces the usual music that accompanies the wedding party down the aisle with nothing but the sound of drums is at least not trafficking in non-stop cliché. And what I perceive to be the idea behind the film -- Stop making all these mistakes and own up to what you want -- is certainly worthwhile. It's just the fleshing-out that's pretty crummy.

The film opens this Friday, September 10, in New York City at Regal's Union Square Stadium 14.

Plus: Q&A with the filmmakers and cast at Regal's Union Square, 850 Broadway!
Each Q&A appearance covers the end of a show, with the intro introducing the following show....

Q/A session with Director Galt Niederhoffer, Producer Ron Stein, and
Stars: Jeremy Strong and Rebecca Lawrence.
Friday Sept 10th, 8:40PM - 9:40PM EST (Q+A 7:00 and Intro 9:40)

Q/A session with Director Galt Niederhoffer, Producer Ron Stein and
Stars: Elijah Wood, Jeremy Strong, and Rebecca Lawrence.
Saturday afternoon Sept 11th, 1:15PM - 2:15PM EST (Q+A 11:40 and Intro 2:00)

Q/A session with Director Galt Niederhoffer, Producer Ron Stein and
Star: Katie Holmes.
Saturday night Sept 11th, 8:40PM - 9:40PM EST (Q+A 7:00 and Intro 9:40)