Bust out your bemused deadpan, it’s time for “Oconomowoc!” This excessively low-temperature film is yet another example of an indie film wanting to have its cake and eat it too: an arch, knowing approximation of indie aesthetics that both mocks and embraces its forebearers in a way that pretends there’s a difference between having a laugh at the post-Jared Hess school of no-budget cringe comedy and actually being a part of it. The mistake here is having cinematic inspirations that don’t travel too far: Hess’ work often feels like a bizarre conflagration of Godard, Herzog and John Waters. By contrast, “Oconomowoc” seems like a cartoon pilot that IFC doesn’t pick up, only to be turned into a film. “Oconomowoc,” named after its Wisconsin setting, finds twentysomething college grad Lonnie (Brendan Marshall-Rashid) returning home with zero prospects and no interest in exploring the workforce. His perma-grin...
- 4/19/2013
- by Gabe Toro
- The Playlist
There's one person in Oconomowoc who seems to be giving a performance. As Mr. Klitz, John Kishline's actions are inexplicable, and his Spanglish incomprehensible, but he seems aware of the responsibility to command the audience's attention through the short time he's onscreen. We don't know why, when we meet him, he's sawing the toes off a running shoe, but he does it with conviction. That makes him a rarity in a film where the second most compelling performance is delivered by a polka-dotted bathrobe, worn open over a Speedo by hairy, pinkish Todd (Andrew Rozanski). His aimless stepson, Lonnie (Brendan Marshall-Rashid), has reluctantly returned home, and been roped into his friend Travis's T-shirt business. (Travis is played by writer-director Andy Gillies; tellingly, they neve...
- 4/11/2013
- Village Voice
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