Down and Out with the Dolls

I rented Down and Out with the Dolls on a whim, and I was sorely disappointed. The idea of a film based on the Portland indie music scene appealed to me. Unfortunately, this movie fails to fulfill the promise.

Almost all of the cast are non-actors and it shows. Much of the dialog and delivery falls flat. The film looks like it was shot straight to video and overall has an amateurish hand-held feel to it. I was surprised to see the director has ten previous films to his credit, because the level of this movie barely surpasses that of a student film.

The Director of Down and out with the Dolls was obviously trying to capture the rock scene in Portland Maine not Portland Oregon. Being from the area I can attest to the fact that this film is nothing more than a cartoon like interpretation of the actual Portland rock scene. It was also painfully obvious that there were few if any experienced actors on this film. The dialogue throughout this film sounded like the actors were reading off of mispelled que cards. The writing was as bad as the acting....which again was really bad. I've seen better acting in porno movies. Editing wise this piece was a mess. There were at lease a dozen scenes that had no place in the film other than filler. From top to bottom this project was a dud in my opinion.

I found "Down and Out with the Dolls" to be a clever satire of the independent music scene. The characters were larger than life but the depiction of bands and musicians rang true. All the casts members were incredible but Kinnie Starr as Reggie was a stand-out.

This is yet another terrific rock and roll movie from Kurt Voss ("Border Radio," "Sugar Town") that's both a detailed look at the Portland music scene and a funny, pointed ensemble character study. Voss's characteristic efficiency when it comes to storytelling enables him to juggle several storylines and characters without any of them feeling underdeveloped or ignored---in fact, the subplots all complement each other beautifully, building to create a hilarious ensemble piece reminiscent of some of Altman's best work but with an underground sensibility all its own. The songs and score are fantastic, as are the performances by a cast made up largely of musicians---the movie positively oozes authenticity on every level, from the production design to the dialogue, and it couldn't be more entertaining. With its distinct, edgy style and intelligence, this is what independent filmmaking is all about.