Bollywood and Vine

BOLLYWOOD AND VINE starts of lame and gets progressively lamer as it wears on. The characters are mostly witless cut-outs aping Hollywood stereotypes of Indians, film stars, and homosexuals. Star Skye Aubrey is surely meant for greater things. In fact, a ribbon-cutting at a Beverly Hills WalMart might be an improvement. The plot is inane and unbelievable, going from one farcical situation to another without regard for pace, tone or honest character development. There are a few in-jokes intended for inveterate movie-goers, but they are so buried in the leaden script that they garner merely smiles, not laughs. Just when you hope this satirical Sunset Boulevard will 'dead end' it goes on another ten minutes! Bollywood and Vine is one address you won't want to visit - just drive by and honk. Ganesha forgive them!

This movie.. Well, there aren't very many words that can describe it. It's pretty much unique in it's own way. Basically it is about a young boy who encounters another male who is straight, and becomes attracted to him. The movie is something you'd see on a public access channel, and in that it is pretty much obviously independent. All in all though, I was able to see the movie the whole thing through without thinking "this is crap, I'm turning it off". If it's a Friday night, you're bored, alone, and a female or non heterosexual male, this might be a movie to keep you entertained. The actors in the film are fairly good, and there aren't many "cheesy" parts in the film. Indeed the movie was quite strange as the main character dresses as a female to entice the other male who is new to the world of script writing. He fully intended on having the male star as a female in his movie, not knowing that he was in fact not who he thought he/she was at all. It's a wacky, brainless movie that can be put on to pass time. Therefore my vote is pretty much neutral, giving this movie a see it if you want, or don't see it if you don't want to attitude.

I have never been a particularly huge fan of independent films, but this move has definitely changed my opinion of the 'Independent Film'. This movie was thoughtfully written and very well performed by all of the actors. I was especially impressed by the performance put forward by Jamie Schrick. His performance in this epic was extremely believable and well executed. I was, however, very disappointed to find out that he hasn't been in more films. This young man was excellent in this film and I feel that he shows real promise and would be great in other films as well. We definitely need to see more of this man in future movie productions! Somebody out there needs to sign this guy up and sign him soon! See ya at the movies!

Just a fun movie! Some lines in this one caused me to laugh so hard I thought that crying would come next. Enjoy it with some friends that appreciate a campy comedy. The cast does not seem to have a lot of "previous experience" under their belts and it is my understanding that some of them are the acting students of Skye Aubrey (who plays Delilah Leigh). Jamey Schrick (Bhuvan Bannerji) and J.R. Jones (Devin Leigh) have only this movie listed as credits despite having two of the major roles in the film. Both of their performances are quite good and they convincingly play the parts. So hop on the Bannerji Hollywood tour bus (aka a VW Microbus) and visit the hilarity.

then here is a little VERY low budget film that barely reaches the tolerable level for most, but for those who delight in over-the-top spoofs, it may just appeal. One wonders just how these 'Bollywood' spoofs escape criticism from the fine film makers that come out of India (Deepa Mehta's trilogy, for example), but then most of them are made in India and are actually throwbacks to the heyday cinematic musicals of the 1940s.

BOLLYWOOD AND VINE follows the contrived idea that a young Indian wannabe film maker named Bhuvan Bannerji (Jamey Schrick) drives a tourist bus into the Hollywood Hills where lives an old actress of horror movies, one Delilah Leigh (Skye Aubrey, the only professional actress in the film and one whose credits date back to 1967) who lives on poverty's edge with her gay son Devin (J.R. Jones). Delilah hasn't worked in years, lives as a recluse, and when Bhuvan mistakes Devin (in complete drag) for Delilah he leaves a script at her doorstep. A charade begins, with Bhuvan's bad script seems to be a ticket to money if Devin can convince him he is able to carry the role in Bhuvan's home of Bombay - a Bollywood movie. Delilah and Devin vie for stardom, Delilah locks the boys in the attic to nurture Devin's need for a relationship, Bhuvan rebels, attempts escape, and the trio become caught up in an accidental death of a snoopy wannabe star neighbor (Trish Dempsey). Of course they are caught and the ending just gets so silly that it is groanfully bad.

The saving grace of the film is that it doesn't take itself seriously. The script has some funny lines sparingly dropped here and there and the cast seems to be having a great time with the comedy. This is a tough film to classify: it has gay themes but very little in the way of gay plot - except for the camp. This is one of those 'loving hands at home' films that is somewhat salvaged by Skye Aubrey who clearly knows her craft! Grady Harp