Wobble Palace

Quirky, fun loving look at relationships in today's world.

Honestly, I just watched this because I've had an Instagram crush on lead actress Dasha Nekrasova for years (it was a bit stronger about 5 years ago but those things always live on in an underlying sense, ya know). Her profile always said she was an actress but I never got to see her in anything, until now. I was not disappointed in the slightest. I don't know her IRL but it seems like director/co-writer/co-star Eugene Kotlyarenko and her have created a way to simply display parts of their true selves through the characters in this film. Dasha's performance is raw, honest, at times intimidating, and often far more erotic than I expected.

This film is perhaps the most realistic representation of existence for 20/30something's in L.A. this decade, aside from the exaggerated bits, like for example, how quickly and consistently Eugene's character gets responses and follow-through's on Tinder, but that's all just surreal fun. A great majority of couples I know who moved to Los Angeles together (including myself) at some point ended up continuing to live with each other after a break-up, which is one of the primary plot elements in this movie. In the beginning, the film felt maybe a bit too much like a self-serving vehicle for director and star Kotlyarenko to spotlight himself as an eccentric weirdo, but as the movie progressed, it began to balance out and sculpt itself out as having more of a cohesive structure and spirit of it's own.

Then, another great surprise was seeing an acquaintance of mine Elisha Drons in there. Every moment with that man in reality is like you're living in a movie, so it makes sense to finally see him in one. His character introduction was probably my favorite scene in the whole movie. "Robes! Do you want me to do it again?..... Robes!....... Do you want me to do it again?..." Mad man, I tell you.

Any way, I'm not sure who I would recommend this to but I got a real KICK out of it. It definitely fits in nicely with the MUMBLECORE sub genre, though it's far quirkier than most of those movies, and in my opinion, better. And, it's intriguing and nice to see that the film's primary creator has his career continuing on a legit path. His recent film SPREE, starring Stranger Things' star Joe Keery (also the boyfriend of another one of my primary Hollywood crushes, Maika Monroe - what's with all the crush connections here?), looks rather innovative and has been recommended to me by several people since it's release - it is total coincidence that that film was by the same guy who made this. Very curious to check it out, and to observe Eugene and Dasha's filmography from here on out. Cheers.

"Wobble Palace" is a great dramedy that uses millenial culture to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of modern relationships and how we deal with loneliness in the modern world. The movie's couple is unsatisfied with the state of their relationship, so they are always trying to find refuge by going out or trying to connect with other people instead of just finishing their love ties. But they can't, because their fond memories hold them back and they don't know where to go next. There is a line in the film that says that "Two betta fishes in the same bowl will start to fight each other, and one of them is going to die". This basically sums up most of the movie (even if in a much expository manner). The realistic characters and dialogue ooze out of the screen, but the, sometimes, inconsistent style and the vaguely political message end up hurting the overall experience a little bit.

I was finally able to watch this film (just yesterday) on Tubi. Although I'm from the Gen-X period, I can still enjoy a film focused on the Millennials, entitled as they are.

Which is a good description of the main male character (Eugene). That guy has way too much confidence in himself, especially considering that he's balding, out of shape, and incredibly self-centered. The girls that he's hoping to hook-up with wouldn't give him the time of day (not in real life, anyway).

And then there's Jane, the main female character. She's unsure of her stature, her career, and her relationships (aren't they all?). Yea, she's "basic"! And seeing the "retro" tech and social apps that are being used during some scenes, it almost brings a tear to my eye.

Certainly, an enjoyable film, even if some of the acting was a bit rough from the other cast members.

Not sure why I stuck with this, honestly. Probably because, just at the point I'd had enough of him, the movie switches focus.

Pretty much everyone else in the film is irritating at some level also, although I quite liked the guy who came round to compare robes and teach her to drive.

I guess the all-round-aimlessness is sort of the point of these films, but after a while I start to extrapolate somewhat - i.e. If I can't cope with even 30 minutes of the character, why would anyone spend any longer with them? I've seen other "mumblecore" things but this is the first where I'm struggling to remember enough to write a review...!

If this is your kind of thing, great. However...