NOTE: This would be considered R due to it's very graphic language and a lot of (non-explicit) sexual content.
If you don't already like Cody Clarke, "Strummer" won't win you over, start with "Ramekin", "Mute Date", or "The DVD", they are his best movies all around, and if you like any of those, then come back to "Strummer". Mostly this movie is what you would call "slice of life", but it is filled with tasteless jokes including one comparing the taste of tofu to semen(by a woman), comparing a vagina to tofu, comparing songs never finished to still born babies, and more! If that offends you, walk away. Cody doesn't mind offending people, and frankly, it is downright refreshing! The lack of politics is also EXTREMELY refreshing as well. Surprisingly, these "jokes" as low brow as they are, are funny most of the time because of their deadpan delivery, this movie is filed with deadpan dry humor. No one will ever accuse Cody Clarke of high brow comedy, I'm not sure it's possible for him, although as seen in "Mute Date" his jokes can be subversive and satirical. It also contains a non-graphic maturbation scene(which I wish was cut out and was just unnecessary).
Other than the first 4 minutes which should have been cut to 30 seconds, and a overlong 2 minute shot of Travis making a sandwich, and the scene with the old friend Janet, I wasn't bored. I wish the shots were more varied, and the script tightened up with just a little more character development. The movie doesn't have a grand plot, it is very much a slice of life film, if that is not your thing, avoid.
I have reviewed most of Cody Clarke's films, check out my reviews, I actually enjoy his movies for real and hope he keeps improving and making more. I watch tons of low-budget films, and in terms of sheer drive & audacity, Cody has it. His films are eventually no-budget, and yet he plods on, he now has 6 full-length features. Most of them have great ideas that almost reach greatness, but are limited by the skills of those involved, This is especially true of the 3 above mentioned films. His writing can be very funny and insightful, but it is often padded out with dramatic moments that don't quite hit, and that is definitely true here, the best moments are the comedic ones, but once things got serious, it started to slow down a little too much and the acting suffers. Both Cody Clarke and Emily Frembgen are good at the comedy side of things, but they are both so deadpan that the dramatic moments do not quite hit the mark.
I feel like this movie "Shredder" and "Bed", are his weakest films, but Strummer is a HUGE technical improvement over the other two mentioned, in fact, all of his films. The sounds is really good here, which in "Mute Date" was a big problem, while I truly wish he utilized more interesting camera angles, it is also continuing the store of "Shredder", even utilizing the same Camera, so it's a stylistic choice I don't like. The other things this film has in common with the other 2 above is that they all have a lot of the action take place on beds, though "Bed" is only on a bed the whole time.... "Strummer" would have benefited from a few more locations to break up the monotony of shots, and this is true in most of his films, I'm gonna keep saying it. I would have loved another scene with Travis' dad, for instance, and a little more background on why he has no job, lives with his father, and is constantly on tinder, he is essentially a nymphomaniac, best I can tell. Especially since we even spend a dragged out 10 minutes with a former teen friend that turns into yet another hookup, but could have been a lot more interesting or shortened to about half the time as it really didn't add much in the way character development, that part was quite dull. Also, Daphne also needed a bit more fleshing out as to why she was hooking up and why she did some of what she does, she appears to be a little messed up mentally, it would be good to a few hints as to why, and those changes would have made up for some of the overlong shots.
I actually did enjoy the ending, it was kind of sweet and touching in a non-cornball way, and it doesn't follow the typical romance formula, which was nice. As it is, I can't say it is more than 7. I like it, but I wanted to like it more. I cannot fault the cohesion of his vision in this film, even if it isn't perfect. Again, I hope he keeps improving his technique on camera work and his writing, and that he will continue making fun and inventive films, we need more people like Cody not less, even if their reach exceeds their grasp.
