Drawing Flies

I finally tracked down a copy of Drawing Flies on DVD - O.K., I had to go on holiday to Canada, but I got it, and that's the main thing! To be honest, I wasn't expecting much, as pretty much all I knew about the film apart from the View Askew connection was that it was very low budget, and in black & white. However, it's got a very `Clerks` style of script (no bad thing), and some sharp and witty lines. Unfortunately, to me, the script seems just a little underdeveloped. Not bad, just, not quite fully rounded. But hey it's low budget, and fun ... perhaps I'm being overcritical. The cameos are fun to spot - mostly under assumed names, too - and the cast seem to be having a whale of a time. One thought - wonder if the makers of The Blair Witch Project ever saw this film? Black and white / Lost in the woods / mysterious monster lurking / injuries / fallings out ....... Hmmmmmmm

Judged on it's own merits, it's a decent movie. When considered as part of the View Askew universe, it is a whole lot of fun. The basic plot is quite clever, Jason Lee's performance is excellent, and its a lot of fun to see most of the Mallrats cast reunited for this film. Its a very talky movie, but is never boring.

Of course, this film has it's share of problems, too. Poor sound, the fact that large sections of the movie seem to be missing ( it is somewhat disjointed and has a running time of less than a hour), plus an ending that I didn't particularly like.

If you're not a fan of View Askew, then there is no real reason to watch this movie. If you are a fan, then by all means buy the DVD. After one initial viewing, be sure to watch it again with the cast commentary.

I gave this movie 7 stars.

I would like to set a few things straight.

Those of you who said you were expecting a great Kevin Smith Comedy,but instead were disappointed: You got what you deserved. It wasn't a Kevin Smith Film, it was a View Askew film. Made by film makers who do not share the exact same flow or style, if you will, with Kevin Smith. I thought the movie was great. If you didn't view this movie with an open mind, or the only reason you saw it was to compare it to the rest of the View Askew films, too bad for you. The movie didn't let you down, you let yourself down. The movie delivered just what it advertised, a film, a film submitted for your entertainment. I understand that every movie isn't for everyone, but a movie can't entertain you if you don't give it a chance.

If you've never heard of 'Drawing Flies', i don't blame you. If you aren't a fan of Kevin Smith, i don't know how you even got ahold of this review. But, anyways, let's focus on the movie. Very interesting indeed. When Kevin Smith was making 'Mallrats' in 1995, two friends, Malcolm Ingram and Matt Gissing, recruited cast members for their own little movie. From the Mallrats cast members, they managed to catch Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Carmen Lee, Renne Humphrey, Ethan Suplee, Joey Lauren Adams, Scott Mosier and Kevin Smith himself. They managed to make this film which dissapeared pretty quickly. It never got a theatrical release and was only shown at small film festivals including Kevin Smith's own View Askew-fest 'Vulgarthon '98' and 'Vulgarthon 2000', festivals which feature films made by him and friends. Since then, it has became interest of all View Askew fans(Including me) who constantly bug Malcolm Ingram about it on Kevin's View Askew WWWBoard. One of the main reasons it was of interest to VA fans was because Kevin appeared as 'Silent Bob', a character he made famous in films like 'Clerks', 'Dogma' and most recently, 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'. On February 26th, it finally got its release on DVD along with a whole bunch of well-deserved extra features. After reading many reviews, it is, as Malcolm says in the commentary, 90 and 10. 90 percent of people don't like it and 10 percent do. I believe that i'm in the 10 percent of the people. The first time i saw it, i wasn't really sure what to think about it but the second time i saw it, i loved it. It's a really good film. The plot follows Donner(Jason Lee), Jake(Martin Brooks), Az(Jason Mewes), Meg(Rennee Humphrey) and Cassidy(Carmen Lee) who all live off welfare in Canada but one fateful day, they are cut off of welfare and have to find a way to survive. Donner suggests to go to his uncle's cabin in the middle of the woods. But what his friends don't know is the fact that he is going crazy and is actually looking for the legendary Bigfoot. Needless to say, chaos ensues as Donner gets more and more crazy. I really thought the comedy was funny, the drama was moving and the film overall was the kind of film Hollywood should be making but if Hollywood did, they would probably butcher it up. I highly recommend seeing 'Drawing Flies', it's the kind of movie that only comes around once in a century(Yes, you heard me. A century!).

9 1/2 out of 10

For those of you expecting a great Kevin Smith comedy, this is not it. This is basically a very good student film. The pace of this film is really uneven and the non-Jason Lee characters needed a little more depth. The sound and picture quality is a bit low - the audio almost drops out a couple times.

the good news: if you're a fan of Jason Lee you'll enjoy this one. He pulls an "Atlas" and carries the entire film. There is also some suprisingly good cinematography. I was suprised to see that 90% of the cast of Mallrats is in it.

bottom line: rent first, buy later.