Bart Got a Room

A sweet, high school, screwball-lite with a great ending, and some enduring one liners, and a delightful William H Macy. The look of the film is litter with nice, small details that make the whole thing feel more real. The score is subtle, with a nice whimsical element to it. I was expecting a silly, maybe fun, raunch fest, but was glad to see I got something more real, touching, and delightful. The ending, at the prom, detouring into a bar mitzvah is adorable, with a great voice over from the lead, who plays slightly pathetic underdog well. When Macy buys a hooker for Bart to take to the prom, it's funny as hell. All in all, all sorts of fun.

I saw this at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan.

Bart Got a Room is a funny and clever film starring Steven Kaplan as Danny Stein, a senior in high school who isn't sure what to do about the Senior Prom. His best friend Camille who he's known for many years (Alia Shawkat) seems like the obvious choice, but after another friend mentions that everyone that's going to prom has gotten a hotel room for the big night, Danny realizes he needs someone other than his "best friend" to take back to a hotel room.

This film is very well made an well written. Kaplan is a natural actor, he does a wonderful job playing Danny, he's like a teenage Woody Allen, having trouble finding someone to go out on a date with and not knowing how to talk to women. And Cheryl Hines and William H Macy are also perfect as Danny's separated parents. Macy is a delight having many of the big laughs in the film, which I'm sure is increased by his hilarious hair. John Polito is great as well playing Cheryl's new love interest. And there's also a funny cameo near the end of the film.

Writer/Director Brian Hecker made a great teen comedy. The audience at the screening loved it, applauding many times throughout. Seek this one out, it's a very entertaining film that's sure to please. See it then spread the word.

Oh, and be sure to stay for the end credits.

Looking back at this film, there are quite a number of scenes that seem as if they, and the movie that they are in, should be superb. Actually watching the scenes, and watching the film as a whole however, the effect is rather lackluster. Objectively, I can't say that the movie is a bad one, and some people will probably love, it, but for many or most people, I suspect that the film will not live up to its potential. Its difficult to say exactly why, but I can nominate three potential reasons.

1.

Comparative lack of comedic follow-through. In many comedic scenes in film, you can see an embarrassing situation emerging a few seconds or minutes before the specific situation ends. Rather than playing each scene through from beginning to bitter end, 'Bart Got A Room" tends to lay out the scene, and clip off the last uncomfortable moments. This device does not render the scenes unfunny, and it could make the film a bit more subtle. "Bart Got A Room" is not the most exciting or unpredictable film however, and the closely trimmed scene endings make the movie more boring.

2.

A vast proportion of the world's humor comes from people and the world as a whole not living up to expectations. Much humor represents an idealistic implicit criticism of these failures and imperfections.

The creators of this film seem to embrace, rather than criticize imperfection however, particularly in the ending, and not so much by defiantly embracing an alternate standard of perfection, but by saying that "hey, settling for ______ is okay." Obviously the difference between different sorts of acceptance (of imperfection) are subtle, but but this film seems to be more "settle for it" than usual, and the implicit lack of idealism leads to less ideal-driven humorous criticism.

3.

This film has a very clear Florida setting and cultural identity, and ordinarily this would be a strict virtue, adding a bit of realism instead of pretending to a placeless universality. Unfortunately, the film is so subtle/dull overall, that the setting and specific characterization overwhelms the overall story and other elements to a degree. Most likely the filmmakers should have made the story and characters a bit more interesting, rather than make the background less interesting, but something should have been done.

Just tripped over this movie on cable without ever having heard anything about it before, and when I came across it, the direction and music reminded me so much of Barry Sonnenfeld's direction I thought it -had- to be something of his I had never seen before (and I'm a big Sonnenfeld fan, esp of titles like "Get Shorty" and "Big Trouble" - the unfortunately timed release which had to be delayed due to 9/11. But watch "Bart..." and then watch "Big Trouble" and you'll see the similarities in style).

"Bart..." had some thin plot lines here and there, but the overall production was crisp and mostly entertaining. The pace was mostly quick, although there were one or two places it seemed to stall; but overall the use of wide and interesting camera angles, quick cuts, and, again, the snappy music selections (which were not main stream) kept everything moving despite what you'd think of as a fairly shallow overall plot.

Another quirky but all-too-human Bill Macy performance juxtaposed against our star Steven Kaplan who plays the focus of the date-hunt. That was good casting. Jennifer Tilly has a little bit part which you're dying to see go somewhere - but when it doesn't, it reinforces the kind of loser-status-but-we-protect-our-own flavor of dad Ernie Stein (Bill Macy).

Production wise: better than most. Quirky, fun, not heavy, but has a nice message overall. Fun to see once or twice.

Director Brian Hecker as the new Sonnenfeld? We'll have to wait and see. Big shoes to fill.

A modest little independent comedy that would like to be quirky but doesn't quite know how to be, Bart's Got a Room isn't about Bart at all – although he does make a couple of brief appearances. The fact he has got a room (for the school prom) is used as a benchmark against which our young hero Danny can measure how badly he has failed in his attempts to get a date for that bizarre American ritual called prom night. Of course, as an aside, it's true that inappropriately extravagant prom nights are no longer an exclusively American custom: having adopted the 'extortion with threats' routine known as Trick or Treat, the 350-channel TV (342 of which you will never watch), and the 'no win-no fee' legal representation when our own stupidity causes us to injure ourselves while at work, the Americanisation of Britain continues apace with our school-kids now dressing up and hiring rented limousines for their 'school leaver's disco.' I am absolutely certain that before my life is over Britain will be celebrating every fourth of July.

Anyway, Danny has had a loyal friend for ten years who just happens to be a pleasant – but not spectacularly beautiful or popular – girl who would love him to ask her to the prom. He also has a mother who is on the verge of marrying a decent but unsuitable man and a father who is desperately seeking love on the internet. Now, given this template it isn't difficult to figure out how this film is going to end. That doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing though, as long as the journey to that predictable conclusion is an original and entertaining one. Sadly, Bart's Got a Room is only partially successful. Many of the incidents here have been seen countless times before (although usually handled with less sensitivity). The film seeks to make points about the futility and self-defeating nature of trying too hard to find the perfect mate, and it does this in a straightforward manner, but it's a message that most of us innately understand from youth, anyway – and those that don't are usually still struggling to find that perfect one thirty years after their prom date and will never listen to messages like this. While there's nothing wrong with preaching the message, it's hardly an earth-shattering revelation, and you can't help thinking that surely the filmmakers could find something a little more insightful to build a film around.

The performances are pretty good. William Macy stands out (as usual) as our hero's father who, sporting a perm from hell, strives to find a perfect mate while refusing to accept that, just maybe, he used to be married to her. Jon Polito is also good as mum's new beau, striking just the right level of likability for the role. The film's running time is fairly brief and it has its moments, but the end result doesn't measure up to its potential.