Play Dead

This is the kind of movie you rent for your overnight slumber party. It will make you laugh but it will also make you squirm. Jessica Stone steals the movie as the precocious 8 year old. Diva Zappa reminds me of a young Liza Minelli ala Sterile Cukoo era. The musical soundtrack is off beat and the direction is efficient and gutsy. Superior editing job.

When I see something like this it makes me wonder how it gets made while so many superior scripts languish unmade for eons. The actors try to breathe life into the ridiculous paces they're put through by screenwriter/director Jenkins but he is so obviously inexperienced and not up to the challenge of guiding them in a creative way. I've probably seen worse films but nothing immediately comes to mind. It's not even interesting in a prurient way cause Jenkins doesn't throw all caution to the wind and shock the audience out of its sleep-induced coma. He seems to think he's making an important statement about obsessive love but unfortunately all this film is is a sedative.

I have been looking for this movie everywhere and cannot seem to find it anywhere online. Does anyone know where I will be able to find this movie? I have read all the comments and now I would really like to see for myself what this movie is all about. From what I have read it sounds to me like it would be funny as hell, but then again that could just be my warped sense of humor. I did not even see previews for this movie on TV back in 2001. If I had seen the previews then I probably would have watched it then. Does anyone actually own this movie? If anyone was to actually own this movie, would you please get into contact with me and let me know?

Dale Spitler (played by Nathan Bexton) is that sweet stereotypical teenager on the cusp of coming out. He's a straight-A student and a member of the drama club. He has a part time job as a babysitter for precocious Dustine Murphy (played by Jessica Stone) which allows her trailer-court-trashy mother, Darlene, to go out drinking. When he's not talking on the phone with friend Violet (played by Diva Zappa), he's fantasizing about Raymond, a boy from school, that he has a crush on. Dale hatches a desperate plot to seduce Ray and when Dale does get him to stop by we see just how hopeless Dale's fantasies are. We see that Ray is an uncouth entirely hetero jock who barely knows that Dale is alive.

However, unbelievable things occur everyday in the movies and Violet soon calls Dale to tell him that she has accidentally killed Raymond in a traffic accident. She wants him to help dispose of the body, Dale realizes that he may now have his chance to get into Raymond's pants.

This comedy is low budget and it shows but the performances are earnest and enjoyable. Dale's puppy dog looks and mannerisms rob his homosexual necrophilia of its depravity. Diva Zappa is a hoot in her role as are the circumstances of the accident. Jessica Stone as the 'little kid' gets some of the best lines in the movie. There are continuity errors and incredibly odd plot elements but overall the movie is entertaining and successful.

This is a disturbing yet entertaining movie. Its hard to describe without giving anything away. Half way into it I was like "no way" and hoping that it all turned out to be a dream or something. I'm not telling what happens, but if you watch it all the way through it is worth it. Its a dark comedy. If you like laughing at small town white trash, then you'll love this movie. It shows the awkwardness of being gay in a small town, yet takes it one step further. My jaw was on the floor through parts of it. Like I said before, its disturbing, yet entertaining. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments and some "oh no they didn't" moments. I wouldn't advise buying this movie, but it worth a look.