My Life with Morrissey

Cool movie! Funny and outlandish. It's a farce that makes you laugh and squirm and laugh and cringe and laugh some more.

I hope it didn't make our sensitive Morrissey uncomfortable. Having an obsessed fan like Jackie would keep anyone looking over their shoulder at all times.

They certainly didn't hold anything back in this film. I enjoyed it immensely and can't wait to show it to all my friends. The acting was hilarious and the photography was great. I heard it was a low budget effort and I was impressed by the production quality. It's awesome to see people making independent films that are smart, interesting and completely against the mainstream.

I can't say that I was completely blown away or really impressed by My Life with Morrissey, but there is a definite grungy kind of comic appeal to it. It's too ridiculous and, towards the end, really nuts to be taken too seriously, which is part of the fun and the dilemma in watching it. The dilemma for me, as someone who's heard bits of the Smiths and Morrissey, is how much or how little can I buy into this one woman's obsession with this very English-handsome singer? Is Morrissey enough to fawn over like some kind of golden cattle God? Apparently, in the anything goes life of the character of Jackie, it would appear so. She works a day job as a file clerk, but her minds always on her potential future love-of-her-life, who sometimes is in a puppy-love state for her, and other times reaching to masturbatory levels. A whole environment of hysteria starts to come in around her, as her co-workers can't take her anymore, and even out in the open world she's circumspect.

For Morrissey fans themselves, it will be hit or miss, and for fans of just plain goofy comedy it might be something more. I myself have noticed it to be a minor cult hit at the college I attended, where the indie-movie side almost had a kinship with indie rockers. While Morrissey and his previous Smiths might be a little more than just 'indie' types, it's appropriate that this story is not in a higher budgeted or released film. The writer/director/cinematographer Andrew Overtoom, likely taking cues from his previous work on Spongebob Squarepants, isn't aiming high at all in the quality of how he shoots, or even how he directs actors. The same weird charm and glow (as well as the danger) in Jackie Buscarino's first film can also veer on being irritating, especially as the film starts to draw to its conclusion. Many individual bits in the office are quite funny, with chuckles throughout, but it's a shame that it never totally comes together to be very memorable. It's watchable and fun enough on a first go if you can find it on DVD, but it may depend on your sense of humor (or connection with Morrissey himself, the buzz around him) if it comes off or is simply annoying.

This movie isn't really about Morrissey at all. It doesn't have any of his songs, he doesn't appear in the film and it doesn't focus on Morrissey as a personality. It is about one girl, Jackie, who is completely off her rocker. Her unhealthy obsession with the Brit star leads her to madness when she meets him one night.

We are first introduced to Jackie getting ready for work and kissing her Moz posters goodbye. Then we meet her coworkers, who are all a little "off" in their own right. Ed, a disturbed, cart-pushing coworker who has a crush on Jackie, is especially funny. The story picks up when Jackie finds Morrissey and gets a ride home from him. Nothing else happens with Morrissey but Jackie convinces herself that she is going to marry him anyway.

The humor is wacky and fun. I was laughing out loud all the way through. You won't believe some of the things that Jackie does and the situations she gets herself into. She has an interesting relationship with her vibrator, there is a great lesbian schoolgirl scene where Jackie gets attacked, and a freaky scene where she has Morrissey's face taped to a blow-up doll. Also, watch for the actor that does the voice of `Spongebob Squarepants' -- he's the record store clerk.

It's a low budget indie film, but the charm and personality far exceeds a lot of bigger budget flicks. A must see for people that enjoy good storytelling and outrageous scenes, and for people with a sense of humor.

i had just recently sent an e-mail to Andrew Overtoom saying:

may i just commend you on a WONDERFUL film? i LOVED it. i was visiting NY (seeing Little Shop of Horrors on broadway...great production, by the way) on monday, and thought i'd stop in the virgin megastore. i saw the film and bought it on a whim, thinking "hey, i like Morrissey and the Smiths. why not?"... all i can say is WOW, i love it. it's utterly hilarious in the utmost darkest psyche, almost a direct mockery of harsh reality. however! consequently, i've now developed a total geek fanboy crush on Jackie Buscarino. will she be starring in any other films? do you plan on putting together any other films? i'd be quite interested to know.

a new fan, -brent saner

and! he was kind enough to take some time and write back, and was utmost kind about it, saying:

Hi Brent,

Thanks for your email, aI always love to hear from people who "get" the film, and it sounds like you really got it. And oh yeah, that Jackie! I think everyone has a crush on her! She is quite the tart!

I do have a film I just finished writing that will be going into pre-production in the spring. There is a good chance Jackie will be involved with that one, but we'll have to see how big a star she becomes in the meantime -- she might be booked up years in advance by then!

I encourage you to drop by imdb.com and/or amazon.com and leave a short review if you liked the film. It helps us a lot as we are always under constant attack by the "morrissey nazis" there.

Well, thanks again Brent. Let me know if you have any luck with Jackie!

Best Regards, Andrew

now, having read that, i want all the "morrissey nazis" to know that this film is, in NO way, guaranteed to be about morrissey himself or include music by him. welcome to the real world! just relax and enjoy the film for what it is- a delve into the sickness of the human condition, and'or what can go wrong with an admiration when it goes too far.

and having a bit of dark comedy in the process.

the focus of the film is human nature, and jackie, and the way she interacts with people around her...not morrissey.

'nuff said!

-brent

Horrid, Overacting, Waste of time. Maybe if they used a more modern music icon it might have worked other then that stay away from this train wreck. I hope the actors did not get payed too much!