Looking for the Jackalope

Some years ago, I was asked to participate as a judge in a film festival and since then I've had a partiality to small, independent films. Karl Shefelman's "Looking for the Jackalope" is such a film, an engaging cautionary tale about a man returning to his 20-year college reunion in pursuit of romance. As the main character, a writer, takes a crazy, hilarious road trip across several states to reach his reunion, his dreams of an old romance become a beacon guiding him to his destination. He has a friend, Dr. Jim, (a great performance by Larry Clarke) who offers assistance and advice along the way. When he finally reaches the college, the reunion is spectacularly normal with a great nod to the generational variety of classes that attends these events.

This is not really a happy ending movie, but more of a resolve of the character's ambition with a Jackalope mentoring him along the way.

An interesting aside: Shefelman lists all the extras in the credits at the end of the movie. The recognition of everyone in involved in the endeavor of making this movie appealed to me.

A man's journey back to where he came from. Really heartfelt and well done. I LOVED it! It was so good on so many levels, The writing and direction was impeccable. The actors were stellar.

I recently watched Looking for the Jackalope, written and directed by Karl Shefelman, on Amazon Prime (free). The film follows our hero, the hapless Jordan Sterling, divorced author of the novel Looking for the Jackalope as he struggles with general malaise and some serious writer's block. The man's tank is empty.

Then an invitation to his 20-year college reunion arrives, and he also gets a call from an old girlfriend. Urged on by a college roommate and his agent, he decides to attend. As he makes his way to the event, we see several flashbacks to idyllic scenes of the young couple 20 years earlier, carefree and hitchhiking to New York. Of course, with each flashback, we see Jordan's growing need to believe that the fire from the 20-year-old romance can be rekindled.

Jackalope is not a typical rom-com, nor a buddy movie, though it has elements of both. It's more a movie about finding oneself. All of the acting is spot on, and Shefelman nails the mood of the reunion. The film has a neat reversal, the good kind, the kind that makes you say to yourself, "Of course,. Why didn't I think of that?" Later there is a line that is like the final piece of a puzzle. In an instant, it all comes together, and you see what Shefelman was up to all along. What a great trip!

From the start the lead character is relatable. The night's experience of getting to the class reunion, reminds me of times where my evening truly went off the rails, so it became very relatable. The female lead lacked something for me, I didn't feel any form of connection to him. Yes, you'll say it's because of what manifests in the story, but she wouldn't be as frigid. Just felt her acting suffered compared to his oddness. Overall a great laugh.

I loved the movie. It was clever and funny! I like the choice of Actors. Relatable to the viewer!