patdwyer4

Brian Vincent's documentary is a testiment to the artistic soul and the patience it takes to live and breath the rarified air of a creative life. In a meta sense, the decade Vincent and his wife, Broadway actress Heather Spore, spent following Brezinski's trail through New York's East Village and the shabby corner of the 1980s modern art world that their subject occupied created a shinier portrait in film that is fun, but touchingly sad since this documentary is a more successful portrait than any of Edward's work back in the day. This artist is only just now being re-examined and as such this search for Brezinski feels more and more like a narative story than a doc the further one dives into it. Bravo to all for shining up the shabby!

One of the best things about HOSTAGE HOUSE is the eye candy. Now I know that reads as sexist, but I am talking for the ladies and the gentlemen of all persuasions here. Jennifer Taylor and Julie Terranova make attractive mother and daughter heroes and their acting is credible given the script they were handed. Justin Schilling is handsome and you get to see him with his shirt off... briefly (pity there wasn't more of that.) Jennifer Sweet is young, beautiful and blonde. Patrick Cronen and Kamen Casey are not only super handsome, but really good actors that make the most of what they have in this story. Both have instincts to deliver lines with humor that were clearly squashed by the filmmakers and the same can be said to a small degree about Taylor & Terranova. Cronen, who really elevates his scenes in act 3 should have been allowed to drive all the way down Snark Blvd and the rest of the cast should have been directed to take much bigger bites out of their cliché ridden dialogue, but filmmakers can be funny about their babies. Speaking of which, director, David Benullo & cinematographer, Alonso Homs do make some interesting images out of a very static setting.

This one gets a higher rating from me owing to the fact that I was entertained and the hysterical laughter that I experienced with the final button scene made being held hostage by this one, worth it.

As with love itself, The Ring Thing is a layered and complex work that moves like a memory piece but forward rather than back. My husband and I make a small appearance in this film by William Sullivan. We appear as ourselves and are subjects of Sarah Watson's (played by Sarah Wharton) documentary she uses as a means to explore her "to wed or not to wed" questions. After a clumsy, misunderstood moment involving a family wedding ring, Sarah and her live-in lover Kristen (played nicely by Nicole Pursell) stumble forward down their respective paths trying to determine if this would/could be the right step to take. Kristen is ready at first but Sarah has reservations and uses her creative life to help work out the question.

The beauty of the acting on all fronts and the ambiguity of the questions they wrestle with makes for a film that is alternately frustratingly confusing, romantic and uplifting much like LOVE itself. Each of these women take their turn seeking their happy ending. Wharton & Pursell have nice chemistry together especially in their more "sparky" moments. Wharton stands out particularly as she so brings to life all the love angst and joy while representing everything Pursell wants and simultaneously being the chief obstacle to that dream. Conversely Pursell represents what Wharton loves most but is also most terrified of for inexplicable reasons. The supporting cast gives both the ladies all the right tones, colors and acts as their sympathetic sounding boards as Wharton's Sarah works on her documentary about long term love and marriage.

All in all The Ring Thing is an adept exploration of all the pitfalls in this new age of same sex marriage.