Kisses and Caroms

This movie hit me as an updated West Coast version of Clerks. Vince Rocca has created a real feeling of life in an area where "just sex" and "meaningful relationships" are often blurred by "glamour" of being a player. The characters all handled their roles with ease and both the writing and the acting nailed the point home. The only real misses where the toilet and sneeze scenes that seemed to in the movie for a shock effect. Ginger Lynn showed that she has a sense of comedic timing. Vince may just pick up where Kevin Smith left off with this gritty but real look at the illusion of promiscuity as a glamorous lifestyle, with a tongue in cheek delivery.

This indie sex comedy lives up to its billing. Kisses and Caroms builds up to a humorous and satisfactory climax. There is quite an array of offbeat characters that enter in and out of the Billiards store! For something that was made on the ultra-cheap, I was impressed with the production value; excellent sound, good lighting and all around technically competent.

The DVD has an excellent menu system, including a "Flash" tease. I also loved the play on Dreamworks' opening logo! "Helium" was a nice bonus, as well.

As some others have commented, I would like to see where Mr. Rocca's career goes. It seems that he has the smarts and creativity to pull off something special.

I was looking forward to seeing this film due to the hype I was reading on the IndieClub web site. This film on many levels disappointed me.

Bad sound: I had trouble hearing several lines and the sound bite of the doorbell always sounded the same which made it sound like an obvious add on. Poor editing: nearly all scenes lingered too long. Cutting a few seconds off the end of each clip would have really helped the pacing.

The main story line is weak - we have an introduction to the situation at the start of the film - but then the story is dropped only to return at the very end of the film. Plus the characters are always talking about things that have happened – its always better to show the audience than to tell. And there is too much unfunny toilet humor in the film which seems to be used as filler. This film is modeled after the film Clerks but takes place on a billiards shop. It seems that every character entering the store is retarded. Many of the jokes are taken from the old Month Python routine where a customer comes into a bookstore and asks if they sell books. The video quality is generally good but they should have used better lighting instead of just the ambient light.

I thought that it was a cute and funny. A great start for a new director and writer. It builds off of a fun evening with a couple trying to save their relationship with a threesome, but turns into the uncomfortable and funny situations that are created after-wards.

Than you add in the group of friends to fan the flames and add a little extra action of their own, and you get this fun film.

I think it's a great start and can't wait to see where this new directors career is going to go. I was especially impressed when learning that they were able to create this project with a budget of only around $5,000. It adds to the fact that there is something to be scene from Vince Rocca and Mike Hutchinson in the future.

I assume this is billed as a comedy because it sucks as a drama. Turns out it's just as bad if viewed as a comedy. Quite unfunny and dull.

Avoid - this doesn't work as any genre.