Death by Potato

I came across this on Amazon Prime and loved it. The actors all give a very entertaining performance and if you're up for a film with a bit of a twist I'd recommend it.

Cooper (Tim Wagner) plans his own birthday party as a murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." But the focus is on the Irish potato famine and each person comes as an Irish character.

When the light s goes out someone is sure to die. Pay attention to the dialog and you may have a "Clue."

I was surprised to find the potatoes innocent in themselves; unlike tomatoes or donuts, they were used as a prop and were mostly wooden actors.

As each victim is creamed, we wonder if the last person alive is the culprit? And who planned this party anyway?

Before we go too far with this review, we need to nip it in the spud.

The initial scene had me cringing - the main actor is delivering a speech in a pretty terrible Irish accent. Thankfully, it was meant not to be taken seriously and the film got going very quickly.

The characters are a delight - they very quickly display their wackiness and continue doing so throughout the film. My one criticism is that diction is a bit of a problem at certain points - which would be acceptable had the subtitles been in-sync with the delivery! So, that's frustrating.

Also that the overall volume is varied as if consistent sound level hadn't been achieved.

As an introduction to a new Director, it was encouraging. There are no mind-blowingly new camera angles or staggeringly inventive shots - but the script doesn't demand it as it's a straightforward Farce and works well.

However, the Director's inclusion of the running 'blind girl joke' in the background within the dialogue that's at the forefront of the scene has been managed well. It's one of the funniest in-jokes throughout the film.

It's also good that the Director hasn't tried to spin out the length but has kept it intense and short - which works perfectly.

The film had me laughing - and the querkiness of the screenplay is superb.

All in all, a very good Directorial debut - and, as he also wrote the script, I look forward to seeing what comes next.

It's...alright. It's light, it keeps things moving. It's not terribly complicated as a film.

That is also going to be the problem most people have with this film. Even if you just want some light viewing, the characters are a little too basic, goofy, and lacking in real um...character.

The script crams some backstory in there, but it isn't terribly effective.

It wants to be a comedy too much to be a dramatic drama, but there's still drama...-ish. It becomes hard to root for some of the characters when they can't take anything seriously.

I did find the writer/director's character to be the best character. I think that says something sad about me, but thankfully, I don't know what that thing is.

The one hour length is fine - for what this movie is, it would've lost points for stretching to 90 minutes. That bought it a point in my book.

I wouldn't say I felt totally fulfilled with my hour, but I wasn't upset either. I could've done worse. I have done worse.

It's not a great party-riff movie, in my opinion. It's okay if you want something simple and silly on your own. If you do choose to watch it though, I hope it does not prove to be your best decision of the day.

If you reach the dinner scene and are not feeling the least bit charmed, bail out. It will only get worse.

I just had a WTF look on my face the entire time. Each character is functionally and idiot and annoying, which I guess was supposed to pass for funny. I hope everyone was high when making this. There's nothing clever or funny, and the twist is pretty stupid.