The Good Life

Hell yes it's the new Donnie Dark, but the only problem is, it's a million times better. Mark Webber is unbelievable. UN-BE-LEIVABLE. I've been a fan of his since snow day. This movie is one of those movies in ten years every teenager will cite as being one of their favorite films. I guarantee that. I guarantee it. Jason Prayer (mark Webber's character) will be as famous as Donnie Darko. I attended the salt lake city screening of the movie and the crowd stood up and cheered when it was over. Steve Berra will be up there with any and every serious filmmaker that ever put an eye up to the camera. If you were looking for a new classic in modern day cinema and found the good life, I'd say you hit the jackpot. JP

Given there's already quite a number of reviews of The Good Life--it did play at Sundance, after all, I'm not going to discuss the plot of the film, except to briefly say that it's a film about the suffering and isolation of one man, Jason, in a town he's trapped in for all the wrong reasons. He is surrounded by deceitful and manipulative individuals who do nothing but bring him down and pull him further and further into desolation. That is, except for his one true friend, Gus, an old man who owns a neighborhood theater. The film deals with themes and perspectives and actions viewers don't typically find appealing on screen--and it is largely depressing. Reviews are mixed for this film, as to be expected. Some find the film hopeful or inspiring at the end--I just see it as survival.

The well-fleshed out characters in this gloomy tale are all impressively played. Mark Webber's performance as Jason is incredibly riveting and believable. As for Chris Klein, I agree with some critics who believe this might be his best role yet. Zooey Deschanel manipulates me into loving her once again. Bill Paxton's character is quirky and odd and gay, and Bill pulls it off perfectly. Gus, however, is probably my favorite character. I kept looking over at Harry Dean Stanton, who gives a heartfelt performance as a dying man, wondering, as the film progressed, how he felt watching himself play this character--at his age--and how it effects him. Of course, he's far more active than Gus...

(on my blog there was a picture of Harry Dean waving his hands in the theater at the audience, announcing "I am not a crook.")

Professional skateboarder Stephen Berra has written and directed a truly important film, built on decent story and cemented together with remarkable performances from the actors. Berra's portrait of small town America manufactures a painful environment which grabs the viewer by the throat. The film doesn't necessarily say anything new or even profound for that matter, but it's certainly an emotional experience I won't soon forget.

Sad, poignant, and rich, this quiet film will give you a glimpse of the human condition from the unique voice of Stephen Berra who writes and directs. He has created something to be forever proud and for those of us that run across it over time on NetFlix (or like I did recently on The Movie Channel) to be thankful for.

The presence of wonderful actors including Harry Dean Stanton, Bill Paxton, and Zooey Deschanel should draw people to this film and the excellent acting and writing will hold them until its end.

Mark Webber is warm and believable as the young man stuck in a Nebraska town that is frigid both physically and existentially.

Zooey creates a memorable character and even briefly sings in this film which is always a delight. Give this one a try. It will not waste your time.

This is at its heart a story we've seen in movies many, many times, either as a primary or secondary plot: Mid-20s underachiever feels alienated and lacks true purpose in life while caught in a small town.

Jason (played my Mark Webber, a brilliant up-and-coming actor you will hear more and more about) suffers from a disease that makes him lose all his hair. He lives with his vulnerable mother, who keeps holding him back because she is unable to care for herself. He cannot connect with the rest of his awkward family. He works several low-paying jobs, including one at a theatre. The theatre's owner is mentally ill and so, Jason must also take care of him.

Throughout the duration of the film, we see him interact with other individuals, most of which are quirky, most of which seem just as alienated about this "good life" in Nebraska, with unrealized ambitions, broken dreams and broken lives.

This kind of synopsis might appeal to me if I hadn't seen it all before, several times. But where The Good Life redeems itself somewhat is in the execution. Stephen Berra has written organic, believable characters, starting with the protagonist Jason, who has to battle several issues including the legacy his father has left to him. There is a haunting theme throughout the movie that people around Jason have raised the white flag on a better life. Jason's father has done worse, abandoning all hope not only for himself but for his loved ones, inviting them to give up as well.

The other key character here is Frances, a role perfectly suited for the charming and quirky Zooey Deschanel. When Frances meet Jason, she becomes a catalyst for his renewed interest in fighting for his life. A true good life. But unlike the prototypical feel-good Hollywood movie, Frances is not just a device to allow Jason to go on to a better life. She is human and flawed and her sudden interest for our underachiever is complex like all real life relationships are.

And this is where I think this movie shines. The various people Jason meets and interacts with all seem to have their own problems. There is no wise sage around the corner waiting to selflessly give a hand. Selflessness might be the trait that most defines Jason. Underneath, he has all those aspirations, on the surface he neglects his true self while living a life he finds pointless.

And so to me, the movie is mostly successful in making you reexamine the mutuality of relationships, the duties we impose upon ourselves and our true motives. Is being selfless always a good and noble act?

If you enjoy indie dramas and the themes described above, you may enjoy The Good Life as I did.

Jason Prayer lives his life as a round peg in the square hole of college football-obsessed Nebraska. Writer/director Stephen Berra has provided his hero with plenty of baggage so an audience can easily tag him as a stereotypical Indie protagonist. He suffers from alopecia, an auto-immune disorder which has left him completely hairless. His father has committed suicide, he lives with his mom in a shabby house besieged by debt collectors from the electricity company - and he works the day shift at a gas station where he's terrorized by a muscle car maniac.

Jason's evenings are spent assisting the senile owner of a decaying cinema, where vintage movies are projected over empty auditoriums. His prospects perk up when beautiful Indie-babe Frances shows up at the theater, and recognizes him as a kindred spirit - and later that night she drives him home after he gets beaten up by the motor-head psycho. Unfortunately the course of true love seldom runs smoothly in Indie-world, and by the end of the film it's uncertain whether Frances is escaped-from-an-asylum crazy, or a figment of Jason's imagination created by too many nights at the movies. Either way, she's the catalyst that prompts him to embark on a quest for a better life beyond freezing Nebraska - and that can't be all bad.