Crashing

This film is nothing less than a master-class in writing fiction. I quite understand the previous commentator's negative review; and I can see that this film will appeal to a very limited audience. If you have any interest at all in the craft of writing, particularly in the struggle to represent the human condition in words, then this is definitely the film for you. If not, it isn't. I would like to leave the review there, nothing further needs to be said. However, reviews must be at least 10 lines so I'll simply point this out: film-makers with the courage to tackle specialised subjects that will not appeal to mainstream audiences must be supported if we are to avoid CGI mediocrity. Give this superbly acted gem a chance!

An example of mis-marketing just to make it seem more appealing to the popular audience, but completely misses the point of what makes "Crashing" so good. This is not a comedy about the sexual misadventures of a middle-aged man and two sexy co-eds. This is a funny, smart, well written film about writing.

The art of writing, the love of writing, the craziness of writing, or the fantasies of writing are all that you can say this is about. A once successful writer is now mired in a personal downward spiral, but finds himself crashing on the couch of two sexy college students. They want him to guide them in their own writing, and he wants to use them to inspire him back to great writing. And here is where we get into semantics. Is he using them to get into their pants? Is he using them to steal their ideas? Or is he merely using the idea of them? And is that "using" them?

Depending on how you view this film, he could be doing any or all of the above. Some of his actions are a little immoral, but he really is doing it all for the writing. Which we get a lot of advice on. It takes an awfully ambitious writer to write a movie about writing, and for the most part, I think they succeeded with "Crashing".

A film which is primarily shot in one location with three actors, a lot of the action occurs in his head. But this is well enough written that that works. Because the sexual tension, that is real. And funny. And clever. And "over-intellectualized". Did I mention this was a film about writing by writers for writers?

Don't expect a classic, just a good comedy/drama with a good ensemble cast. This movie about a writer who gets thrown out by his wife gets taken in by two female students after lecturing their class and winds up getting the inspiration for his new novel (after a severe case of writer's block) by snooping around in their email accounts and apartment. The fantasy scenes were hilarious, and I loved the opening parts where he learns he's been kicked out and the next scene with the class. The writer and two ladies work well together, and it's a movie about getting inspiration off each other, as he inspires them to write, too. Not a bad movie if you have time to kill. I liked it and you might too.

*** out of ****

Geez it's been a while since I've written a review but I've been in a rut seeing action-prison-bad-guy-does-good genre flicks that usually end up boring me after 20 minutes. The last film that actually amused me was the latest Star Trek (2009). It's been a dry spell when it comes to movies that go beyond face value - I kid you not...

Crashing (2007) had me interested from the starting credit music - a quirky, sparse little woodwind theme that would be repeated throughout the film.

The film is about a the travails of a writer, Richard McMurray (Campbell Scott) stumbling over himself and the roadblock of first novel success. Comfortable, complacent and frustrated by eternally trying to repeat the formula of his first book.

Richard's life gets ripped apart when his wife kicks him out of the house and freezes his bank accounts. At a creative writing presentation he tells of his writer's block and new sense of heady liberation due to circumstances beyond his control, and gets invited to crash at the apartment of a female student. And so Richard ends up sleeping on the couch of coeds Kristen and Jacqueline, provided that he critiques their own writing endeavors.

Much credit to Izabella Miko and Lizzy Caplan, who nicely contrast each other as the muse twins of dark and light. I've been a fan of Campbell Scott since Roger Dodger (2002) and here he is just as amusingly self-deprecating.

It's an engrossing movie that will pull you in as the author and two young girls intertwine in life and in fiction.

This small-budget independent film requires multiple views, because the plot seems different with every watch. At first, the film seems like a middle-aged author- professor's sexual fantasy - living in an apartment with two 19-year-old attractive female students who are open to all experiences (drugs, casual sex etc.). Then, on second thought, the film proves to be intellectually stimulating for it provides the watchers not merely a man's schoolgirl fantasy, but it provides some free-of-charge very accurate and very helpful tips on creative fiction writing and novel writing - the kind you pick up in writing classes. After watching it a couple of times, the film grows on you in terms of plot presentation technique and character development, and you accept the gratuitous writing advice wrapped up in a man's one-week sexual odyssey.

What's even more clever about this film's scenario is the fact that Richard (Campbell Scott) ends up in his ultimate fantasy without him actually provoking it per se. He merely accepts the invitation of crashing on a couch, without sending off signals about being sexually attracted to the female students, and yet, they are the ones who pursue him and make a pass at him. Thus, the film implies Richard's sexual quest to be Kristen's and Jacqueline's choice, not his. He merely plays along on the 'song' chosen by the two young women. His advances towards another female character at the beginning of the film proving unsuccessful, he ceases to emanate availability, but things actually turn in his favour without his deliberate efforts.

Campbell Scott acts marvellously in the role of egocentric author and occasional writing professor Richard McMurray, and he adds the right amount of seduction, humour and quirkiness to the character. He might, as well, have told Diane: ''I was there, just minding my own writing, when these two started sleeping with me.'' The comedy of the situation is nicely dealt with by a cool and self-controlled Campbell Scott who, apart from occasional mishaps, always says the right things and the right double-meaning advice at the right time, without ever turning into an old perv who gets what he wants out of every situation.