Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town

I really wanted to like this film, despite the mixed reviews. I enjoy a lot of the cast and was especially psyched to see the talented Mackenzie Davis given a project to carry. And for the first hour or so, I wasn't disappointed. But the last act (pretty much everything after the point where she confronts her former friend and leaves the party) is downright terrible. Neither what happens to her the next morning nor the very last scene makes any sense considering what comes before. It seems tacked on, like there was an original ending that didn't play well with preview audiences. This could have been so much better.

It was always a strong 8 really, at least, but the end, as others have noted, is really weak, and actually, as others have not, so is the arty, dream-sequence opening, which nearly made me switch off.

I'm very glad I stuck with it because ultimately what stuck with me were the good parts, so good they might be 9s or even 10s. And they define the whole, a frantic, hilarious odyssey through a city, in the small but honourable tradition of Ulysses, After Hours, Slacker and The Swimme, full of brilliant little vignettes and characters, sly twists and ironies, and a carefully paid out understanding of the life we're looking at. For the first half or so especially, those vignettes are something remarkable, each one almost a little movie in itself. It's simply superb writing, perfectly executed by all concerned.

MILD SPOILERS:

The third act, as others have noted, is a major bummer of a misfire, but things weaken even before that. For me, it started losing momentum at the sister's house, with the singing, which, in my view, should have been a bit of raucous, haywire acoustic punk that left everyone speechless.

And then, just finding out who the ex is, about whom all this mad dash has been about, is a huge letdown because he seems such a dullard, but also there's a terrible lack of clarity that is near the line demarcating interesting ambiguity, but neither on nor over it in my view.

The, I think, intended reading - Izzy breaks up her ex's engagement and then dumps him as revenge - doesn't seem to fit anything about her character. Much more interesting would have been if she'd been entirely sincere about wanting him back, then just helplessly shut down and ran out on it, like the true avoidant personality she probably is, putting the cap on her trail of destruction. Either way, a little rewriting and probably some recasting - of the boyfriend - would have been required.

It's really too bad it didn't quite get there. But I'm still going to watch it again for the good bits because I love them.

I shouldn't be surprised by the reaction to this film, in a time when indie films have to be brutally realistic, or feature decayed characters, or have scenery gnashing performances to make a mark. There can't just be chaotic, sweet little movies made about someone's ordinary life, someone's annoying, trashed, tender youth - if they don't make a profound statement about life.

But these little movies always seem to have startlingly true moments, stunningly real feelings. They're not throbbingly stylish or cinematic, so they let their characters come through, sometimes with painful honesty - Izzy manages to be a crashing fail, and at the same time, her experience of the pain of first, and long-lasting love is like a honeycomb crushed in a fist.

She's dirty, wild, funny, lazy - but look at how she folds down onto the bathroom floor and doesn't cry, but lets out this half scream, half moan as the person she's built so much of herself in has just walked away. Watch how she looks at her embittered sister who she used to be so close to, while they sing a song they put so much of their youth and essence into. There's love, there's fear, shame, longing - but there's still that dazzle of hope in her eyes. She's still young, and she hasn't been crushed into uniformity yet.

How can you not feel the truth of this? The fine line between hope and fantasy is a tightrope she walks the entire time. Is what she wants beautiful from afar, but up close, when it opens its mouth, is it just ridiculous? What is the fate she's going to make, if she decides to let go of the one she's been hitching her heart to half of her life? I wish I could've stayed with her longer to find out.

'IZZY GETS THE F*CK ACROSS TOWN': Three Stars (Out of Five)

An indie comedy-drama about a desperate woman trying to get across Los Angeles, to her ex-boyfriend's engagement party so that she can crash it. The movie was written and directed by first time feature filmmaker Christian Papierniak. It stars Mackenzie Davis, Alex Russell, Carrie Coon, Alia Shawkat, Haley Joel Osment, Lakeith Stanfield, Brandon T. Jackson and Rob Huebel. The film has received mixed reviews from critics, and it's now playing in indie theaters like Portland. I found it to be mostly a pointless bore, but it does have it's moments though.

The film tells the story of a woman named Izzy (Davis). Izzy wakes up one morning in bed with a guy she doesn't know (Stanfield), or remember how she met him. She then decides she needs to get across town, in Los Angeles, to her ex-boyfriend's engagement party, so that she can crash it. Along the way Izzy meets an assortment of characters.

The film is really random, and kind of pointless, until it's conclusion. I do appreciate it's climax though, and how it unfolds, but the rest of the film I could have mostly done without. Davis is good in the lead role though, and the supporting cast is all decent as well. I was mostly bored throughout it though.

This indie film is very relaxing and pleasing to watch. But be warned: It starts like that but slowly, but strongly, becomes somewhat of a regular romantic comedy. Could have been great if stayed on the level of the 1st half.