Sweethearts

By all rites, this movie should have been crap. Low budget, questionable production values, B-Movie trailers on the video tape, etc.

A well developed script delivered by superb actors bootstrapped this movie out of its own mediocrity into something truly substantial. So nice to see a film about manic depression that doesn't sensationalise the disease, shy away from its realities, its highs and lows, and doesn't throw itself a pity party.

And then of course there's Janeane Garofalo as lead and film producer who, I imagine, could *sneeze* brilliantly if she wanted to.

While this movie sports an all-star cast of some of my favorite comics (more Cho please), this is a DARKLY comic look at urban loneliness as well as the loneliness implicit with mental illness. The script starts out humorously enough with Jasmine (Garofalo) answering a personal ad and messing with the respondee at an espresso shop (run by Cho and Goldthwaite) named the Asylum. The name is apt because it becomes more and more obvious that Jasmine is not a happy puppy. I will not go on and spoil it but be warned that this is not a "happy' movie. There are funny moments but the overall tone is pretty dark if not depressing at times.

I am a HUGE Janeane Garofalo fan ( as well as Cho and Goldthwaite) and rented this with the expectation of having a good laugh and a smile. I must tell you that this not the movie for that. I don't think it's a bad movie but... damn... this is NOT a funny movie.

Janeane Garofalo is the only worthwhile thing in this low budget film. Her performance as Jasmine, the suicidal and embittered loner, is so original and on the mark that you wonder how much of Janeane's real personality is imbued into the character. I'm sure for many, Janeane's character is truly repellant. However if you'd like to watch a surly, sullen, and morose woman acting out, then this film is for you!

This film has zero production values. I believe the director must have been asleep at the wheel as the lighting is non-existent and the camera shots are inept. In fact, there are so many shots in the film that you can't see because there is literally no light. (And I don't think that was planned .

Despite these annoyances, Janeane's performance stands out as exceptional. I hope she develops this character further and brings it to a film that will better showcase her talent.

5/10

I urge anyone who cannot sit through a Meg Ryan film without wanting to scream "the world is not like this!" at the top of their lungs to watch this film. Sweethearts is an absolutely fantastic film, with a pair of top draw performances from Mitch Rouse and, especially, Janeane Garofolo who shows a grasp of pathos I for one had previously never even glimpsed. The choice of setting the film almost entirely in one locale (a trendy bo ho coffee house) is inspired, fostering an claustrophobic intensity that gives the emotional content that extra bite. The dialogue is, with one or two exceptions, in turns bitingly savage, wonderfully droll and genuinely touching. There are also some wonderful directorial flourishes, in particular during the rooftop scene. By far the best element of the film, however, is the way it consistently plays with the conventions of the genre it superficially falls into. Horvat masterfully leads the viewer into a falls sense of security ("oh, right, now he'll fall in love with her and she'll have a life changing epiphany and they'll all live happily ever after. And there'll probably be a dog involved somewhere") only to pull the rug out from under at the perfect moment. In all few films, especially romantic films, have left such a deep and lasting impression on me. I heartily recommend anyone with at least half a brain and half a heart to try to find this film (please, someone, release it one DVD), you won't be disapointed. 10/10

But this film bites the proverbial big one other than those funny bits. This film like so many other wannabe edgy indie films needed its script run through the old typewriter again. Janeane Garofalo is a whinny, annoying feminazi heifer frequently in her films, stand up, and life as well I would imagine and she is in this film too once again.

But her one saving grace is that she is very cute. And she is a good actress. She kinda looks like Kennedy from MTV in those librarian glasses she sometimes wears. Or maybe the Adrienne Shelly character in the great Hal Hartley film 'Trust'. The glasses are missing in this film, so that's a strike against it for me.

Bobcat Goldwhatever his name is does have some funny masturbation scenes though. But the arty red lighting in a lotta the scenes of this film has GOT to go. For die hard Garofalo fans only!