Drawing Flies

I watched this film the other day not knowing what to expect, only knowing that it was the "lost View Askew film", so I was pretty excited.

The film was, very indie, a lot of poor sound and at times boring and at times decent cinematography. And the Jake character and actor made me laugh/wince.

However, some very decent dialogue, an interesting storyline and an amazing performance by Jason Lee elevated this film.

I am a huge huge huge Jason Lee fan......I kinda wish I was him, and i have always thought he needs to get some deeper peformacnes. I love...LOVE his hilarious trademark characters in the Kevin Smith films, and a few others, but I think he needs some serious dramatic roles....this film provides him with some depth, some drama, and some chances for his hilarious self. Whenever he wasn't on screen i kinda spaced out and got bored. I know it's weird to say he's amazing in a pretty thin film like this, but he really was. I hope to see him get more starring and dramatic roles in the future.

Judged on it's own merits, it's a decent movie. When considered as part of the View Askew universe, it is a whole lot of fun. The basic plot is quite clever, Jason Lee's performance is excellent, and its a lot of fun to see most of the Mallrats cast reunited for this film. Its a very talky movie, but is never boring.

Of course, this film has it's share of problems, too. Poor sound, the fact that large sections of the movie seem to be missing ( it is somewhat disjointed and has a running time of less than a hour), plus an ending that I didn't particularly like.

If you're not a fan of View Askew, then there is no real reason to watch this movie. If you are a fan, then by all means buy the DVD. After one initial viewing, be sure to watch it again with the cast commentary.

I gave this movie 7 stars.

I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and the View Askewniverse but this movie was hard to sit through. I finally got to see this movie that I've wanted to see for a long time and no I can't get that time back. It's just a bit over an hour but seems longer. Not funny and boring. NOT a Kev Smith type of comedy. Watch when you have some time to burn if you want to see this.

For those of you expecting a great Kevin Smith comedy, this is not it. This is basically a very good student film. The pace of this film is really uneven and the non-Jason Lee characters needed a little more depth. The sound and picture quality is a bit low - the audio almost drops out a couple times.

the good news: if you're a fan of Jason Lee you'll enjoy this one. He pulls an "Atlas" and carries the entire film. There is also some suprisingly good cinematography. I was suprised to see that 90% of the cast of Mallrats is in it.

bottom line: rent first, buy later.

I finally tracked down a copy of Drawing Flies on DVD - O.K., I had to go on holiday to Canada, but I got it, and that's the main thing! To be honest, I wasn't expecting much, as pretty much all I knew about the film apart from the View Askew connection was that it was very low budget, and in black & white. However, it's got a very `Clerks` style of script (no bad thing), and some sharp and witty lines. Unfortunately, to me, the script seems just a little underdeveloped. Not bad, just, not quite fully rounded. But hey it's low budget, and fun ... perhaps I'm being overcritical. The cameos are fun to spot - mostly under assumed names, too - and the cast seem to be having a whale of a time. One thought - wonder if the makers of The Blair Witch Project ever saw this film? Black and white / Lost in the woods / mysterious monster lurking / injuries / fallings out ....... Hmmmmmmm