Play Dead

When I see something like this it makes me wonder how it gets made while so many superior scripts languish unmade for eons. The actors try to breathe life into the ridiculous paces they're put through by screenwriter/director Jenkins but he is so obviously inexperienced and not up to the challenge of guiding them in a creative way. I've probably seen worse films but nothing immediately comes to mind. It's not even interesting in a prurient way cause Jenkins doesn't throw all caution to the wind and shock the audience out of its sleep-induced coma. He seems to think he's making an important statement about obsessive love but unfortunately all this film is is a sedative.

Dale Spitler (played by Nathan Bexton) is that sweet stereotypical teenager on the cusp of coming out. He's a straight-A student and a member of the drama club. He has a part time job as a babysitter for precocious Dustine Murphy (played by Jessica Stone) which allows her trailer-court-trashy mother, Darlene, to go out drinking. When he's not talking on the phone with friend Violet (played by Diva Zappa), he's fantasizing about Raymond, a boy from school, that he has a crush on. Dale hatches a desperate plot to seduce Ray and when Dale does get him to stop by we see just how hopeless Dale's fantasies are. We see that Ray is an uncouth entirely hetero jock who barely knows that Dale is alive.

However, unbelievable things occur everyday in the movies and Violet soon calls Dale to tell him that she has accidentally killed Raymond in a traffic accident. She wants him to help dispose of the body, Dale realizes that he may now have his chance to get into Raymond's pants.

This comedy is low budget and it shows but the performances are earnest and enjoyable. Dale's puppy dog looks and mannerisms rob his homosexual necrophilia of its depravity. Diva Zappa is a hoot in her role as are the circumstances of the accident. Jessica Stone as the 'little kid' gets some of the best lines in the movie. There are continuity errors and incredibly odd plot elements but overall the movie is entertaining and successful.

Oh Boy!! You know your in Trouble when you realize that when you look at your watch at the 50 minute point of a 75 minute feature film and, that you have not laughed once, your in trouble. I'd like to be able to say I know how the film ends, but it was quite simply, so unbearably bad, I left at that point to partake in an activity of un-numbing my brain with copious amounts of alcohol. This film does a disservice to trashy cinema. I hereby apologize to John Waters, Doris Wishman and Russ Meyer

I have been looking for this movie everywhere and cannot seem to find it anywhere online. Does anyone know where I will be able to find this movie? I have read all the comments and now I would really like to see for myself what this movie is all about. From what I have read it sounds to me like it would be funny as hell, but then again that could just be my warped sense of humor. I did not even see previews for this movie on TV back in 2001. If I had seen the previews then I probably would have watched it then. Does anyone actually own this movie? If anyone was to actually own this movie, would you please get into contact with me and let me know?

Gee, I'm awfully disappointed with all the pedestrian, goodie-two-shoed users trashing the hilarious treat that is PLAY DEAD!

This was easily the most exciting film I saw in Park City last winter. It's original, fun, campy, clever, tangy and bright. It simultaneously indulges and undermines deep fantasies of desire in an insightful-however exaggerated-way. It's harmless joy!

The characters are vibrant and new. The little girl ROCKS! The boys are cute. The dialogue is whimsical and clever. The acting is genuine, and taps well into the universal emotions beating through the script. The friendship between the kids and the hijinks with the mother character are a jungle gym of fun! Just because the good guy sodomizes what he thinks is a corpse doesn't make this experience any less delightful. Can't you people take a joke? Wouldn't you have given anything to nail the captain of the wrestling team in your high school?

The negative reviews are mostly coming from gay men who watched PLAY DEAD at various Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals around the U.S. It's too bad they're doing their part to make gay culture just as boring, uninspired, challengless and mediocre as the mainstream. What a sorry sack of saccharin prudes!

Yes, it's a low-budget production. There are a couple of shoddy jump-cuts that expose areas where the filmmakers needed more footage. Zappa is not a particularly skilled actress, either. But these are mere nits!

PLAY DEAD is carrying the baton for a fabulous legacy of proud and spirited comedies that champion unconventional relationships such as HAROLD AND MAUDE, HAIRSPRAY, or even SHREK.

Nathan Bexton is my hero, and you should all watch PLAY DEAD!