Frances Ferguson

My film club screened this movie today and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The movie is a very original, dry comedy with lots of offbeat,funny narration by Nick Offerman. And Kaley Wheless is terrific in the lead role. I took the film as a satirical story of a lost-in-life twenty-something female. Many of the side characters that Francis meets are also very funny.

I'm not familiar with the director or writer, but I hope to see a great deal more of lead actress Kaley Wheless in the future. Her facial expressions speak volumes, and she manages to telegraph a whole attitude with one angry, simmering glance. Her character is nihilistic and beyond caring. I feel like there could definitely be a backstory, but then it's already clear where her life had gone. How she decides to deal with it is what the film is about. Funny, and certainly worth a watch.

Mordaciously hilarious study of smallish town, cornhusker housewife turned scarlet-lettered jailbird. Blame it on ennui. I wish I had a teacher like Frances Ferguson during my high school years, instead I had wizened nuns with bad spanking habits and a bald, pasty man with disturbingly hirsute hands. If she were the teach, I'd have really boned up on my homework assignments. Yeah, so I gained a sort of retroactive, vicarious thrill watching this. The wacky, deadpan narration (except for the odd time when he cracks himself up) by Offerman is a real treat, as is the fine acting by Kaley Wheless. The latter is a fetching, refreshing cross between Taylor Schilling and a less uptight Charlize Theron. Cool cameo by the great Martin Starr helps to perk up the last quarter of the film. This is the part of the film that sort of loses its luster and fizzles out a bit. It gets a little too North Platte-tudinous. You could do a helluva lot worse with your indie film viewing choices.

Anyone that doesn't get this movie doesn't get the absurdity of modern society, behavioral norms, relationships, or crime and punishment.

This movie should be an instant classic for anyone with a cynical view of the world. If you do not feel the plight of the admittedly flawed main character, I cannot relate to you and probably envy you.

This is a highly enjoyable film that makes you think about how difficult it is to cope with the pointless and relentless stream of subtle wrongs in the world. Often the result culminates in an foolish act that defines you more than it really should. It is funny because it is in perfect tune with how painful the world can be for those that "get it" that are surrounded by those that don't.

It raises many questions for the independent thinkers, not he least of which is: How is a victim-less crime viewed as worse than the wake of misery left by selfish people?

This film is not for everyone. But it just might be the perfect litmus test to see if you and I can get along.

Hats off to this team who was unafraid to explore some hard topics, then to not back away from the controversy that has found its way into the media in the past couple of years. With an incredibly sharp script, an amazing lead performance, and lots of familiar faces (and voices) popping up throughout, it's a fun ride and always keeps you thinking about the way we and the people around us carry public perception.