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The feature debut from director Talmage Cooley - who by all accounts garnered great acclaim with an engaging documentary short about blind teenagers in a Buffalo ghetto - this terribly incoherent genre splicer is as badly thought out an idea as you will ever see on screen if you live to be a thousand. Purportedly a romantic comedy with a social message, it's painfully unfunny, incredibly patronizing, borderline misogynistic, and after boring you into a coma for the better part of two hours, gives up on its numerous flailing plot strands and freely admits via a final reel voiceover to not really being about anything at all.

Set in some random, economically depressed, Midwestern berg named Patriotville, geeky twenty-something Chase diligently curates the town's one-room historical museum, commemorating it as the site of some forgotten Civil War skirmish. Mostly this serves simply as an excuse to have him bike about...

When you work for a ruthless insane dictator, it's no easy feat to throw your boss a surprise birthday party. In this darkly comical 2004 short directed by Talmage Cooley, as the Khmer Rouge retreats further away from Cambodia, they stop for a moment to celebrate Pol Pot's birthday—but it doesn't work out so well...

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The following is a series of interviews with directors whose films screened at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival, which took place this past week. A Total Artwork: “Asylum Seekers” Director Rania Ajami Owning His Film: “Easier with Practice” Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez A Good Crisis: “Daylight” Director David Barker Tackling Corruption, Greed and Love: “Patriotville” Director Talmage Cooley The Right Script: “Mercy” Director Patrick Hoelck Blaxploitation Meets Art-House: “Modus Operandi” Director …...

Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of interviews with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival. “Patriotville” (USA, 2008) Director: Talmage Cooley Cast: Justin Long, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Corddry, Keir O’Donnell, Missi Pyle An idealistic museum manager and a beautiful troublemaker go to war with a corrupt mayor to stop a casino from being built on their town’s “historic” battlefield. What initially attracted you to …...

Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of interviews with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival. “Patriotville” (USA, 2008) Director: Talmage Cooley Cast: Justin Long, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Corddry, Keir O’Donnell, Missi Pyle An idealistic museum manager and a beautiful troublemaker go to war with a corrupt mayor to stop a casino from being built on their town’s “historic” battlefield. What initially attracted you to …...

Scott Glasgow, who is best known for his dark orchestral scores for films such as Chasing Ghosts, Hack! and Bone Dry, is currently writing the music for a comedy entitled Patriotville. Film stars Justin Long, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Rob Corddry and is directed by Talmage Cooley, an award-winning director who is making his first feature film with Patriotville. The story depicts life in a small town where local forces rise to protect its history against an Indian casino opening over the town's historic battlefield. Scott Glasgow recently scored Lo and is also doing the music for The Bridge to Nowhere starring Ving Rhames and Bijou Phillips.