Fell, Jumped or Pushed

One of the most enjoyable films I seen last year! Brilliant writing! An absolute must for anyone who likes witty indie films! It's a story that you will still be thinking about a week later. Hats off to the director for bringing together not only a great cast but also a very enjoyable and entertaining story. I went into the theater not knowing anything about the film. Being in the film industry myself I am sometimes a tough critic however I was laughing out loud almost the entire time and I left hoping there would be a sequel. ( I never leave hoping for a sequel) I would recommend this film to anyone but especially to the entertainment and film industry crowd. Get your popcorn and get ready to laugh out loud!

Oh my gosh. I sat here and laughed out loud. If you're a fan of mockumentaries, you need to put this right next to your favorite Christopher Guest films. Such a nice chemistry within the cast, and so fun to watch them interacting with Todd's actual family. I can't wait to watch it again! Great characters, great story lines, great one-liners!

The entire odd squad was fun to watch, but I thought the performances by Todd, Mark, Caroline and Blair were standouts. They created a wonderful blend of angst, fear, naiveté and attraction. And what a thrill to see Andrei Belgrader playing the delightfully nasty guru.

Todd's family members deserve their commendations as well. They were such good sports, and it was plain that they were enjoying the experience of being in the movie.

This clever little film features the hallmark of a good mockumentary: a solid ensemble of actors who create a vivid, zany crew of characters. In this case, they're brought together to film a documentary that's destined to change tracks -- if not go off the rails altogether -- as their amateur-but-earnest leader (Todd Peters) wades deeper into his own unfulfillment and his family's unsolved mystery. And all of this is framed as a documentary-within-a-documentary directed by an Eastern European auteur (the inimitable Andrei Belgrader). Filmed near the top and the bottom of the west coast, in Spokane, Washington, and San Diego, California, this movie is well worth your viewing.

"Fell, Jumped, Or Pushed" has a specific look and feel directly evocative of amateur documentary filmmaking. That's because this cleverly ingenious film is in fact its own mockumentary cheerfully flogging amateur documentary filmmakers, and it therefore demands none other than this precise visual presentation. Here we have a send-up of people who aren't good at filmmaking, and it's at its most hilarious when it implicates even its own filmmakers! Terrific.

To extend the joke to its threshold, director Todd Peters is also the star of "Fell, Jumped, Or Pushed" -- and his character, too, is named Todd, blurring the lines between lampooner and lampooned (the layers of self-deprecation and insinuation here are gonzo). Who knows what Todd Peters might be like in his real life, but film character Todd is most assuredly a clueless non-starter: He reads a how-to book authored by filmmaker Ivan (Andre Belgrader), and instantly empowered, he knows he's destined to make movies himself. Ivan soon becomes privy to all this, and sensing the seismic tremors preceding Todd's cataclysmic on-set disaster, he voyeuristically gathers his own camera crew to document Todd's film shoot. Todd's intentions for his movie may or may not have something to do with the empowerment of women, but we do have a title: "A Journey to Courage" features ladies from Todd's own family tree, and it goes nowhere fast until cousin Marcy -- while herself on set -- finds the filmmaking bug has bitten her, too. She adroitly grabs Todd's movie by the scruff, redirecting it in the thematic vicinity of the family's long-disappeared military grandfather Curly.

Assuredly, "Fell, Jumped or Pushed" is a very well-acted film, thanks to its fine actors' collective willingness to completely lay out for the script's great character development. The roles they inhabit are at times ludicrous, and in the next moment immersive and freshly fascinating, with no better example provided than Todd himself: He's at his best once his composure mudslides as a result of his film having dovetailed away from him, eventually hitting the proverbial fan. From concept to completion, "Fell, Jumped Or Pushed" is an exceedingly smart, self-aware, and inventively funny film, and one that sits squarely in its own space. -(Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)

I've never seen a film like this. The idea is original and keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what's going to happen next. I look forward to seeing more films from these actors and the director. I'm so glad I saw this film and will be sure to tell my friends and family about it. I hope it gets released so others have the chance to enjoy such a great film. I know these films often don't get the audiences they deserve, so I'll do my part to get the word out that this film needs to be seen by movie lovers out there. The music is really great too. I really enjoyed the whole thing Really original, really fun!