NoHo

I somehow stumbled upon this movie over the weekend by movie surfing Amazon suggestions and since I love independent 90's films, I decided to watch it. After watching this hilarious movie I have officially added writer/director David Schrader to the likes of Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, and Eric Schaffer and Donal Lardner Ward for making a no budget film that is entertaining from start to finish and seemingly came out of nowhere. The only difference is the release of NoHo was apparently very limited and it had languished in obscurity outside those lucky enough to have seen it, for the last 26 years. It's a perfect capture of what has been termed "slacker" lifestyle. The main characters, Quinn and Walter, struggle with jobs, (keeping or finding) love, (sometimes sabotaged by atrocious taste in music) and the general malaise and soul searching of life in general. I'm sure anyone who lived in North Hollywood at that time will get a blast from the past because the film seems to lovingly display tons of local locations and landmarks right from the start. I've always thought that Gen X writers like Schrader, Linklater, and Smith display a knack for witty, snap fire dialogue that is the hallmark of our generation. I'm not sure if it sprung organically or everyone influenced everyone else, but this movie has it in many scenes. This movie will make you feel nostalgic for pre cell phone stops at the nearest payphone and the greatest decade we've had in a long time, the 1990's. It's funny, heartfelt, and just plain great. The only reason I can think of why this film was not picked up for wide distribution is the quality of the filming. It's not as polished as Clerks in many spots, you can see more graininess and some processing burn in places. I tend to find if a film can overcome these technical flaws with a good story and humor that keeps your interest, it's a winner. This film is one of those winners. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie, You'll see it's well deserving of a place in the much lauded indie scene from the 90's.

Had to check it out as a good friend of mine (Dan Klass) has a small part (Harvey's Doctor). It had a (very) small theatrical run here in Los Angeles, and I made a point of paying my $8 and attending a showing. To my surprise, it was actually quite funny for a low budget thing. I especially liked the spoof of the Mentos TV commercial, which a later saw a number of other versions of; this was the first place I saw one. As for the plot, well, a bunch of slackers in North Hollywood in the mid-1990's try to find love and success in the entertainment industry. Sounds like you've seen it before, but there were a number of laughs that made it worth the time; the insanely bad CD collection of the crazy roommate sticks in my mind. As far as I know, never released on video or shown on any television outlet, but, you never know, it might pop up eventually. If it ever does, I need a copy.

I have to say, as the producer, that Dave really did a great job... Sure it's a micro budget glorified home movie, but for $10k or maybe a few grand over that, we made a lot of people laugh. I really appreciate all the great comments directed at Dave. He's a great undiscovered talent that will eventually hit it big. Being Ozzy Osborne is really a cult favorite and he's got lots more where that came from. Check out Bloodline by him and Keith Coulouris if you'd like to see more stuff from Dave. It appears that I have to say a minimum of ten lines before they will post this...so...let's talk about Dave some more shall we?? Okay, Dave...what can say...he's a funny guy...but you already knew that if you watched NoHo! I think it's available through Amazon or one of those channels if you search hard enough...or try ebay.

Thanks again for all the kind remarks! Tony

I saw this movie at a limited (very limited) run at the Sunset 5 theater in Hollywood back in Fall of 96'. I was surprised to find it listed on IMDB as you can't get it on video or DVD anywhere. I remember being impressed by the smart dialogue and really funny situations, a lot of which were ripped off in subsequent films (i.e. when he can't open the condom packet, cuts it with scissors by accident, then runs out to buy new ones, doesn't have enough cash, goes to the atm, gets robbed, etc. etc.) David Schrader wrote the script, also directed, and acts in the movie -- i heard they shot it for $10,000, and unfortunately, it looks like it. Too bad actually, because if this movie would have looked as good as say, Swingers, it probably would have gotten the same kind of attention -- it was that smart and funny. The drug deal scene gone bad, which turns into a Mentos ad was the first parody I ever saw of those commercials (remember, the movie was made in 1994, and got its little release in 96') There were so many memorable scenes: the Cool Hand Luke homage where he eats 50 slices of pizza in 45 minutes is hilarious. Harvey at the California Depression Institute, faking like he's depressed. The double date at the House of Haggis. Harvey's new life as porno star, Hugh. G. Rection. Just good stuff all around, I remember laughing a lot. Schrader was the guy who also did the Being John Malkovich spoof -- Being Ozzy Osbourne (with Christy Stratton), which showed on IFILM -- two full years before the Osbournes took off. Hope he gets the chance to show more of his talent. The style is kind of like a WASP-ish Albert Brooks. It's definetely a Gen-X comedy, but it was one of the first, not an imitator. And originality counts for something, right? Someone put this out on DVD please, or at least video...