The Watermelon

This film was very unique and well made. I enjoyed the way it unfolded slowly. Great characters and great film.

THE WATERMELON is a small-budgeted comedy-drama full of characters who range from flaky to downright insane. Our hero, Achilles, is stewing at home in clouds of pot smoke following a nasty divorce. His estranged stepfather dies and leaves him a trailer that his step-sister had painted like a watermelon. The presence of the colorful trailer next to his house draws a succession of oddballs into his life, most consequentially a homeless woman fleeing her own bad relationship, and the step-sister returning to reclaim her handiwork.

The only produced screenplay by the late San Diego-based experimental fiction writer Michael Hemmingson, THE WATERMELON keeps the viewer involved, waiting to see what strange things the strange personalities will do next. (Hemmingson claims in the DVD commentary that some of the characters and even some of the events were directly inspired by real life.) The use of ancient Greek names for the dramatis personae was apparently just for the hell of it; there's not much in the way of mythical resonances in the story. The generally unknown (to most of us) performers bring a blank-slate quality to the film, and they're good enough one wonders why there aren't seen more frequently in film and television nowadays.(Hemmingson's credited cameo as "Waiter" apparently is on the cutting-room floor.)

The comedy is of the sort that provokes constant smiles rather than continual guffawing-- not quite Bill Forsyth-level, but almost. If you have a taste for that sort of humor, track this one down and check it out.

A simple yet entertaining movie: A pretty normal, boring man inherits a trailer painted like a watermelon, and then enters all sorts of characters who are the complete antithesis of normal. Cue an hour of a half of weirdness for the sake of being weird, but not much else. There's nothing really deep or meaningful going on, but that doesn't mean it's not worth the watch. The acting is superb (Beinbrink's apathetic face is simply charming), the storyline is compelling, the pacing is good. So as long as you don't go into it with overly high expectations or groundbreaking cinema, this film will please. A little trippy, more than a little "what the hell is that person wearing?", and a lot of insanity. Good for a lazy afternoon where there's nothing to do, but nothing to write home about.

Alright! Finally watched The Watermelon. Held on to it until a friend could watch with me. We laughed at the funny stuff , and really got into it. It is a really fine movie. The Watermelon theme worked well as plot device, but was not overdone. The acting was great.

Kiersten Morgan and Elyse Ashton were fantastic! Elyse especially shines here. Steve Shields did a fair imitation of Jack Black as Patroclus. Hemmingson's dialogue was real, never strained.

Really enjoyed watching it; would recommend it to anyone. Funny and quirky; I was a little bit reminded of Kill Bill and There's Something About Mary. My friend is a big Hitchcock fan and she thought she saw some of his ideas at play. Very well done.

I was able to watch "The Watermelon" from start to finish, and that puts it head and shoulders above most of the no-budget films I've seen. This was made possible by a strong lineup of actors; Will Beinbrink's lethargic Achilles was well-complemented by Elyse Ashton's Ex-Wife/Antigone; her delivery was so spirited and over-the-top, that it took two roles to contain it all. Kiersten Morgan was competent as Persephone, but she seemed miscast; she just didn't have that worn, weary look of someone who's had a rough life-- someone whose mind and body have been through the wringer. For me, the standout supporter was Julia Aks. She was the perfect fit for the role of the nutty Artist-- I found her so convincing, that for a few moments, I was convinced that I was watching a real person, rather than a fictional character played by an actor. My complaint with this movie lies with the direction and editing. At certain points, the movie seemed to slow down so much, that I was fighting to keep my thumb away from the fast forward button. Also, the frequent changes among waking/flashback/dream/hallucination states were hard to distinguish, and thus made the story harder to follow. Shortening (or possibly omitting) a handful of select scenes would have made this film much more watchable. Despite this, though, I can say with few reservations that I had a good time watching "The Watermelon".