Romance

I saw ROMANCE a couple weekends ago at the Cinequest film festival, and wasn't sure what to expect. I had heard about the short story it was based on, but had not read it. I am a fan of Chuck Palahniuk, though, and it's always fun to see a film at a festival.

The quick synopsis is that our hero has just lost his love, and doesn't dare fall for anyone again. But an incredibly hot, incredibly out of his league girl comes onto him and they fall into a crazy kind of love. The only problem is... there is something sort of "off" about her. I won't get into too much more for fear of spoilers--every moment in the movie is worth seeing for yourself.

This film echoes Palahniuk's writing flawlessly, and is at once hilarious, touching, and full of questions for the viewer to ask themselves once it's done. What is "romance"? What is "love"? It digs under the surface of what society tells us about what love is/should be, while still being incredibly funny.

I can't recommend this film enough.

I originally loved the short story ROMANCE as written by Chuck Palahniuk; it is a difficult task for writers to generate sincere laugh-out-loud moments in their readers, and Pahlaniuk does it as well as Sedaris in this story, because laugh out loud I did.

The film ROMANCE picks up the nuances in the short story and the film maker translates them well onto the screen.

This IS a love story, make no mistake. It is not for the feint of heart, but very few internet savvy audience members will be truly repulsed by the cringe worthy moments. Rather, the "shocking" moments are unexpected, funny, and not gratuitous.

This film is about seeing what we want to see in our mates when we are first in love. It is about seeing the good in others when that good serves our purpose, and being able to dismiss the bad when it doesn't fit in with our modern horny little visions of what happiness looks like.

At 26 minutes long, ROMANCE packs a wallop into a small space. I will not hesitate to recommend this film to friends who support independent film, friends who are fans of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, Fight Club, Sixshooter, and any friends who appreciate a joke.

'Romance' is a love story by Chuck Palahniuk, the author of 'Fight Club.' 'Romance' is at times hilarious, sad, shocking and reaffirming. A mixture of voice over narration with gentle background music, the film takes us into the life of a man who encounters a woman he can't believe is interested in him. He's just lost his previous girlfriend and lacks self-confidence but not assurance. When the girl says she's Britney Spears and parties like no-one he's ever met he can't believe his luck. Following their story 'Romance' has laughs and genuine "Palahniuk" moments that make you squeal and shock you out of your seat. The audience reaction was a fantastic way to end this shorts program and 'Romance' ends with a cute message that explains why people in love seem perfect. The film is like nothing seen before and the promotional material in advance came with a warning that would well have been heeded by some, especially during a notorious scene on a bus which had the entire audience laughing and gasping at once. Cinema experiences were made for moments like these.

-- Films and Moving Pictures

If you like Palahniuk, you'll love this adaptation of his short story, ROMANCE (the story was featured in a copy of Playboy a couple of years ago).

It's got a Pacific Northwest vibe and pairs Palahniuk's quirky sense of humor with some terrific human moments. It's a sort of boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, and girl proves to be a bit more than boy bargained for.

The actors were great, (I especially loved the dinner with mom scene), and the editing seamless.

Funny, risky and smart. A terrific short.