LolliLove

One of the most scathing, crude, funny, spot on satires I've ever seen. If you're looking for the darkest of satire unencumbered by a big studio that try's to be PC about everything this is the movie for you. Take time out to watch the outtakes, deleted scenes and all of the extras on the DVD. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. Fantastic.How they got everyone together without laughing long enough so they could complete this is a feat I'll never be able to do. Just the idea for the movie, passing out lollipops covered in wrappers that contain uplifting phrases and inspirational paintings - and then thinking that this will in some small way help homeless people, is inspired. Truly unique - and hilarious.

Reading aother Review, I felt motivated to watch and review this film. LOLLILOVE got a firm hold of me 10 minutes in...and never let go! Here's a MOCKUMENTARY, set in the L. A. area (Where else, right?), that focuses on the foibles of charity volunteers who do what they do not out of any blind, selfless "Mother Teresa" style commitment to others, but basically because of how it makes THEM feel!!!

With LOLLILOVE, the term "LOW Budget" really doesn't apply...It's more like: "NO Budget"! Apparently, the female lead, Jennifer Fischer(Jenna) also directs, co-wrote the screenplay, provided the storyline and is credited as Illustrator! But if you want a real example of wearing many hats, her husband, Peter Alton, serves as Narrator, Screenplay Co-writer, Composer of Original Music, Film Editor, Cinematographer, Sound Recordist and Graphic Artist! WOW...Talk about a One-Man-Band!

Invariably, these tiny, totally unpretentious film projects are much more successful at making me laugh than your typical, 100-Million-Dollar-Overblown-Formulaic-Hollywood "Comedy"! LOLLILOVE is no exception.

As a Los Angeles area ex-patriot, the obsessively self-absorbed narcissists portrayed here bring back fond memories! Like those self-mesmerized Hollywood publicists, who gradually convince themselves of the veracity of the B. S. press releases they spin for their clients, the would-be-do-gooders in LolliLove seem to have brainwashed themselves into the firm belief that handing a homeless person a designer lollipop with an artsy Pollyanna-style feel-good message on the wrapper will be a life-changing event that will instantly put them on the fast-track to 12-Step Rehabilitation and unbridled success!

Oh, yes...And all this for only a measly $250,000 in charitable, tax-deductible contributions...Why can't they seem to find any contributors?!?! It's inspired, all-in-good-fun, biting satire at its best.

9*********.... ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

Knowing that this movie was made with such a tiny budget really is amazing. The idea is just genius: a yuppie couple decide to give out lollipops covered in "designer wrappers" hoping to inspire the homeless to get jobs, stop doing drugs, or even stop blowing up planes (with James' characters Mustafa and Osama bin Awesome). Of course, their idea is met with a lot of skepticism as well as downright anger, but Jenna and James fight through this negativity and get to live out their "dream." And fail. It's not politically correct, and it's not glossy or perfect, but goddamnit, that's the way movies should be! See this movie!

A yuppie couple want to give something back to the community. They have a scheme which involves giving out special lollipops to the homeless. They believe that the homeless could learn self-worth via lollies wrapped in special wrappers covered in inspirational slogans and drawings.

This low budget mockumentary is quite surprisingly a product of the Troma studio. I say unexpected as their brand of comedy could best be described as 'wilfully stupid', whereas this film contains a comedy of a far subtler variety. The two stars are Jenna Fischer and James Gunn, who also wrote the thing. It's a very good bit of work from them as they both put it great comic performances as the narcissistic couple who are so self-obsessed they never realise just how ridiculous their foolish scheme is. The writing too is pretty good with a lot of black comedy and satire. But the most impressive thing for me was that I found myself actually laughing aloud a few times which is more than happens with most comedies. Not a bad effort at all.

As a fan of the good people at Troma's work and ideals, it was on visiting the Troma site that I stumbled on this gem; a mockumentary about helping the homeless by giving them lollies, Lollilove is a sharp satire about helping those less fortunate and a strong debut from Jenna Fischer, but not without flaws.

The characters are well written, and the cast are believable and funny. Even Lloyd Kaufman, in one of his stronger role, as Father Lloyd. James Gunn gets most of the laughs as the ridiculous artist husband, making a number of very un-pc statements - his character is improved for it. The editing, though, is the films trump card, making the film hold together better than most mockumentaries (and a lot of the Troma back catalogue for that matter), looking a lot more professional than its meagre budget justifies. Though Lollilove isn't your average Troma picture and probably won't please all Troma fans, this does share the Troma independent spirit and the dark macabre humour.

That said, there are flaws, the major one being its length; a 65 minute running time, which for a feature film is not long enough to be truly satisfying, at least to this cinephile; yes, the deleted scenes on the DVD would have harmed the film had they been included, but Lollilove would have benefited an extra day or twos shooting, and 10 minutes more the running length. One clumsy directorial choice was the bleeping of swearing, intended to make Lollilove more like a TV show, but seems out of place given the dark nature of humour. Also, a couple of points in the film the joke ratio isn't as strong as it could be, especially when compared to the work of Christopher Guest (a tough comparison point, being that he's an auteur of this genre).

Though not perfect, Lollilove is a wicked satire, a promising debut, and a good Troma title to boot. Perhaps to fully appreciate this film, it is necessary to note the low budget production values, and the work done between husband and wife Jenna and James Gunn. This is worth further investigation if your a fan of mockumentaries, and have a dark sense of humour.