Bart Got a Room

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.

Written and directed by Brian Hecker, "Bart Got a Room" is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale set in south Florida where high school geek Danny Stein won't be in the demographic majority for another fifty years yet. A good Jewish boy, Danny is all excited about attending his senior prom - or at least he would be if he could get the hot sophomore he drives to school every day to agree to go as his date. Unfortunately, she thinks of him merely as an older-brother type, so Danny is forced to look elsewhere for options, including the Plain Jane Camille (Alia Shawkat), who's been his best friend since childhood and obviously wishes Danny felt about her the way she feels about him. Danny also has to contend with the fact that his soon-to-be-divorced parents (wonderfully played by William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines) are already in the market for future spouses and that they keep the understandably mortified youngster continually posted on their dating progress.

Though in terms of plotting there's little that separates "Bart Got a Room" from countless other films in the same genre, the movie finds a wealth of truth and humor in its deadpan depictions of ordinary life. Bart and all the figures who inhabit his world go through their days just trying to make the best of bad situations, searching for that one little nugget of happiness that will make the crushing banality of the rest of their lives at least tolerable, if not worthwhile. For Danny, it's getting a date for the prom and meeting an attractive girl who will reciprocate his romantic interest; for his parents, it's trying to get that one last stab at coupled attachment in a world where youth is prized above all else and where they're faced with a daily reminder of what awaits them in their fast-approaching "golden years;" for Camille, it's trying to get the boy she's attracted to to see her as a burgeoning woman with sexual appetites and not just a platonic buddy to study and hang out with.

"Bart Got a Room" nicely captures the exaggerated nature of teenage trauma, when showing up dateless to the prom is a personal tragedy comparable only to the crash of the Hindenburg or the sinking of the Titanic. And Steve Kaplan perfectly conveys every bit of the angst Danny experiences as he maneuvers his way through those shark-infested waters known as adolescence.

It's 2 months before prom and Danny Stein (Steven Kaplan) is running out of options. Even unpopular Bart Beeber got a date and a room. Danny is a nerd in charge of prom with his longtime friend Camille (Alia Shawkat). He doesn't want to ask Camille who he wants to be platonic with but everybody just expects it. He wants to ask hot sophomore cheerleader Alice (Ashley Benson) who he drives to school. His divorced parents Ernie (William H. Macy) and Beth (Cheryl Hines) are both out there dating.

This is more sad and pathetic than funny. Kaplan isn't charming enough to lead this and bring out the humor. Alia Shawkat is charming enough and provides some of the best scenes. There are some great comic actors but the jokes aren't hitting. The story isn't anything new or special. Nothing is truly funny but it's a passable amateur effort from writer/director Brian Hecker.

I remember seeing a preview for this movie on The Movie Channel, I think that was the channel. Then about 2 days later I saw the movie for sale at Wal-mart. That night I actually watched it. I thought it was hilarious in so many ways. Yeah, some of the humor is kind of ridiculous but it's directed towards teens and young adults. In so many ways I can relate to this movie and so can other people i'm sure. I was very pleased with William H. Macy's performance. I also liked it because it had both actors we already know, and some that we have never seen before, or at least I haven't. All in all I think this film was very good and I hope that everyone gets a chance to see it.

I started off disliking 'Bart Got a Room' due to its painfully obvious set up, clichés and predictable storyline where you knew where this was going from the get-go. For the most part, it unfolded to where you thought so with just a hint of surprises. The idea behind the film, and hence the title, involves high schoolers scrambling to get a date and a "room" for prom night, since *Bart* got a room. Sure, when Bart's revealed in the room, they overshoot his nerd-factor, but the movie's clearly mean-spirited from all angles on a person that's different from the "norm." Again, they did dress up Bart as the stereotypical arrogant "Napoleon Dynamite," but it was a pretty harsh reality the parents were teaching their kids to be judgmental. Some segments were funny, I'll admit, but those few and far between scenes involved Macy (namely the woman running for her life and the older female with a housewarming gift.) And it was touching how down-on-his-own-bad-luck divorced father Macy would give up everything, including a date with poker-great Tilly, to aid his son's quest for a date. 'Bart' was a sweet, innocent movie (other than few scenes knocking down different people) and you could do worse, but there are far better high school comedies. Such as 'Election,' 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off,' and 'Juno.' You have to give kudos to the lead, Kaplan for trying to carry the movie, but not so much for the supporting case, like the overly clichéd "heavy-set" buddy, the pretty blonde cheerleader and the plain-Jane BFF that, shocking, should be his first pick for the prom. We've seen this plot dozens of times over, and one of my favorites was 'Some Kind of Wonderful.' Ironically, director Hecker, did seem to attempt (unsuccessfully) the heart of most Hughes movies.