Frownland (2007)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Ronald Bronstein

Writer:

Ronald Bronstein (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 2008 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

About a door-to-door coupon salesman who eats popcorn & eggs off the folded-out-door of his kitchen oven. |

Plot Keywords:

Mumblecore | One Word Title | Frown

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dore Mann	...	Keith
Paul Grimstad	...	Charles
David Sandholm	...	Sandy
Carmine Marino	...	Carmine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary Bronstein	...	Laura (as Mary Wall)
Paul Grant	...	Exam-man

Runtime:

USA:106 min | Argentina:106 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Frownland

Deeply distinctive, memorable, peculiar, but also repulsive

I wavered between loving and hating this movie as I watched it. The movie has some good, offbeat humorous moments, but they're a bit few and far between. The main character is a schlub who is virtually completely incapable of effectively communicating with anyone around him. This is a type of character that doesn't generally get any attention in film, so focusing on him is an intriguing idea, but it only half works for me. The movie brings up the question sometimes faced by independent movies focusing on unlikeable individuals: Why would you want to spend nearly two hours with such a person? On the other hand, after it was over, a former roommate said, "Thank you for being SUCH a good roommate!" while another friend commented that he appreciates all his existing friends much more after having seen this movie, because the characters were so screwed-up and annoying. The movie has some funny scenes also focusing on the main character's roommate, who is much more articulate but also a total deadbeat. Perhaps the movie could use some judicious editing from its current form (roughly 109-115 minutes at a screening in NYC in April 2007). Interestingly, the movie doesn't spell out the relationships between various characters -- I suspect perhaps as a way of avoiding "exposition anvils" and keeping things as realistic as possible. I would've liked to learn more about the character of Laura, who remains reticent and mysterious.

Also, kudos to the movie for redressing the total lack of mucus in modern cinema. There is a decent amount of realistic and well-placed snot in this film. In one case, the snot is totally hilarious and unexpected. Maybe it should have been called "Snotland."