Same Boat

Saw this movie at Cinequest in San Jose and it was awesome!!! Packed theater during the festival. Perfect movie for a rainy day with SO!

This movie crept up on me. Futuristic assassin love story on a cruise? It sounds like too much, but everything is so perfectly balanced with great acting and really dry comedy, it never pushes too hard. I laughed out loud multiple times, and the ending honestly got me. Could not rec more

Just saw this at the Midwest Independent Film Fest and was happily surprised. It's a microbudget indie comedy with a great premise that doesn't sell its characters short. The cast is great, the soundtrack is wonderful, and it was also shot, without permission, on a cruise ship (a brilliant idea). It's funny, silly, thoughtful and poignant. If you like indie, time travel comedies, this is your jam.

I have nothing against director, co-writer, and star Chris Roberti, and I hope he grows in his skills and does fine things in the future. To be blunt, however: this, his first full-length feature as a director, is just not particularly great. The very first scene simply isn't funny, and it plainly tells us why it's not funny as protagonist James observes that there's a difference between "bad people" and people who are "bad for humanity." The attempted comedy to follow varies between wry and deadpan, but is executed at all times with a major dearth of energy such that it feels like a lack of commitment or interest from those involved. Roberti's wanting, dull direction is surely the driving force of this feeling, which makes it all the more awkward that some supporting characters or moments are guided to obnoxious volume and/or forcefulness that firstly recalls Adam Sandler (e.g. 'Happy Gilmore'), and secondly, is just aggravating. These supporting characters definitely aren't funny, and some are altogether superfluous; why bother writing in Katja and Carlo at all? To all this add some tasteless boorishness and puerile sensibilities, heaping platefuls of self-indulgence, small scenes and bits of dialogue that add nothing, and a steady stream of lines, jokes, and gags that just don't land. If this is what one is speaking to when invoking the phrase "same boat," it's not unfair to wonder if the vessel shouldn't be decommissioned and scrapped for parts.

I feel bad being so critical, especially since this isn't outright bad itself. 'Same boat' is competently made in most regards. The premise has promise, and there are some good ideas in the screenplay. There are kernels of earnestness and heart that paint this as a comedy-drama. I would like to see the cast in other pictures to get a better sense of what they're capable of: Katie Hartman (Katja) has an electricity about her that makes me think she'd be great in a comedy with sharper writing and direction; Tonya Glanz is charming; Julia Schonberg illustrates an understated strength that I think would shine elsewhere; I see in Evan Kaufman's performance as Rob wisps of the same sense of humor that characterizes the works of BriTANick masterminds Brian McElhany and Nick Kocher. Yet as it stands this movie is sorely lacking of the vitality that would make any of its best effort count, or even a spark thereof; even the comedic timing is off in some instances. James and co-worker Mot seem unevenly written, and to be frank, Roberti's performance in the lead role is one of the least convincing aspects of these eighty-odd minutes. Dashes of observational humor or plain commentary are even more ill-fitting than the sexual language or toilet humor. Josh Melrod's editing feels unpracticed, not unlike Roberti's direction (and writing, if we're being honest). In fact, despite appreciable production values, the film kind of just comes across as broadly unpolished.

Despite all the weakness on hand, and all the would-be comedy that just doesn't land, I don't think this is altogether terrible. In some measure I actually like it. There were good thoughts here, and everyone involved made a real effort, even if they didn't succeed. The last twenty minutes or so are pretty well done, making for a modestly strong finish. I see the unrefined skill and intelligence that this carries at its best, above all in the last few minutes. But then - it took three-quarters of the runtime for 'Same boat' to earn its first laugh, or even a smile. So much of the narrative writing feels deeply uneven; some facets are conjured out of the blue with no meaningful rhyme or reason, and the more that Roberti and his co-writers try to attach rhyme or reason to them, the more they fail. The earnestness in the screenplay is ultimately a welcome touch right when it's needed most, but there are also times when the feature struggles considerably with tone. And for the fact that the earnestness of the storytelling proves to be the dominant strain (drama over comedy), the attempts at comedy that didn't work are all the more unfortunate. I see what this 2019 picture tried to be, and what it could have been, but in various ways it just falls all too short to achieve a significant recommendation. I wish nothing but the best for Roberti and all others involved, and may they find success in their future endeavors. I'm glad for what value this can claim, and I'm glad for those who enjoy it more than I do. Would that 'Same boat' had benefited from a longer and more focused gestation to allow both its comedy and its drama, and the contributions of all on hand, to be more developed as we see them.