directed by:
Jonathan Fox written by: Jonathan Fox genre: Comedy |
I tell ya folks…this film is billed as a Comedy, but if you read through the synopsis of “Boardwalk Winter,” you’d probably assume it would have to be some kind of Drama…maybe even a Horror movie. Speed-dating through a bunch of dudes to find a husband before death comes to claim you through a terminal illness? That sounds like the stuff of nightmares if you ask me. Not the illness so much as the need to find a husband and/or thinking any man would be what you’d want - bugging you in your final days. Maybe that’s just me, though. I’ll push play on “Boardwalk Winter” and see what Fern thinks.
Natalie Veater, who plays Fern, the person formally known as Guinevere, has a remarkably radiant smile and giant, beautiful eyes that seem like they’re taking in the whole world with every blink. With Fern having fallen on hard times that have compromised her health, she’s sublet her hotel bathroom in order to make the rent. Cue Skip (Brian Dijols), who is nuts deep in a video game when we first meet him – literally. He not only likes to kill his opponents in the game he’s playing, but his character teabags them post-mortem so that he makes a statement that says “not only can I kill you, but I had time to humiliate you too.” Respect! If you are unfamiliar with the art of teabagging, I fully invite you to Google that up. T’ain’t long after that, you’ll meet Mrs. Kellogg, played by the legendary Victoria Jackson of “UHF” fame – IYKYK. She plays the quintessential overly concerned neighbour, and I’m all for it – it’s great to see her back onscreen again. She’s kept plenty busy throughout the years; it’s just been a while since I’ve seen her in a role personally. We only get a quick introduction to Mrs. Kellogg to establish her character, and we’re movin’ on again quickly, following Fern to the doctor’s office to see if her situation has changed. It hasn’t. The outlook is bleak. Great setting and plotline for comedy, right? “Death is no joke,” as Fern will tell you herself, which leads us to wonder how this film is actually going to work and generate some laughs. Don’t get me wrong, “Boardwalk Winter” will certainly have you smiling, and quickly at that, but being amused is a long way away from rolling in the aisles. Lighthearted doesn’t necessarily equate to comedy, but sometimes a movie takes a while to find the balance that it’s looking for. I think it’s fair to say we can feel the struggle for “Boardwalk Winter” to discover that balance as it begins, but I’m tough to discourage – I have faith in Veater’s Fern – she gets us engaged with her story right away. There’s no way that this isn’t gonna get real sad at some point along the way, but at the outset, we’re all smiling - at least for the most part. You can see Fern drifting in and out of her reality as she tries to enjoy a round of “tiny golf,” but I think any of us would have real trouble taking our mind off our terminal illness. Written & Directed by Jonathan Fox, he’s got a great eye for detail when it comes to how to go about shooting the scenes of his movie and what to show us onscreen. As for the writing itself, I think he’s got a bit more room to grow, but I appreciate what he’s got here at the core of the story in “Boardwalk Winter.” You’ll find the occasional line here and there that’ll throw you a bit, like when Fern says: "I don’t know what swept me up, but I was in a fog.” You don’t know? How could you not know, Fern? While it’s true that we’re all dying from the moment we’re born, we don’t all get the advance notice that she’s got. I think we’d all be in a fog if we got the news we were not too far away from the reaper, wouldn’t we? There are other examples you can cite that come up later on, like the day when Fern is supposed to take it easy, and instead ends up getting a bunch of skateboarding lessons instead. Like I was tellin’ ya, it’s all great to watch, but there are a few issues that occasionally had the writing feeling a little unfocused.
Ultimately, I think we all know what the real story is that Fox wants to tell, and none of the small things I’ve mentioned stop him from doing that. Thanks to his steady direction and clear know-how behind the camera as a director, “Boardwalk Winter” continually has us wanting to watch as it plays on. In any event, a few quirks in a script of a quirky idea for a movie ain’t gonna be too detrimental or anything that would stop me from watching – I want to know how things work out for Fern & if she can find the love of a lifetime before her hourglass empties out! The potential suitors seem just about as grim as Fern’s life expectancy. You’ve got muscle-heads on the beach that aren’t gonna work, theoretical nice guys that aren’t actually nice guys at all, a very misguided boyfriend of her best friend Tiffany (Magali Trench) that misread the signs & thought maybe a throuple was a possibility, and what seems like a possible frontrunner with the surfer guy. What I really like is that we never stop rooting for Fern; she is a tremendously likable character, and I think everyone out there watching this movie wants her to find love before her time runs out. So let’s help you temper your expectations for this film, billed as a Comedy – it’s a Romance, with slightly comedic elements to it. Many of those laughs you might have been looking for come from Skip, who never leaves the bathroom he’s renting in Fern’s hotel room & even gets his meals delivered to him there. Aside from that, though, the laughs are fairly few and far between…almost non-existent if I’m being truthful with you…but what’s truly amazing is how little I seemed to mind as I watched. Sometimes curveballs can be a good thing; I didn’t know I was about to be watching a Romance, but that’s a much more accurate description for what “Boardwalk Winter” is at the heart of it all. Let’s be real though, Fox chose some of the darkest terrain possible to create his jokes within – he either went with straight-up gallows humor & a no-holds barred approach, or he was bound to end up in a place like this where things are a whole lot nicer than they’d need to be if this was going to be a full-on Comedy. Again, I’m cool with it – I liked the dramatic presence, I liked the love storyline of Fern…I’m merely helping you understand what you’re really in for. Where things start to slow down a little bit is where Fox decisively abandons the pursuit of comedy in an effort to focus more directly on Fern’s love story, but that’s also where we really tap into what this movie is actually about. That’s when you start to realize the comedic aspect was more of a distraction than something that served the film strongly enough to be its most dominant trait. “Boardwalk Winter” is much more about how important it is to use the time we have with those we love, even if we just recently met them. Isn’t that sweet though? And accurate? Personally, I don’t think there’s ever a day that goes by where I don’t appreciate a reminder that none of us are here forever, and that love is what we should concentrate our time on for the time that we’re here. Fox circles back a little to lighten things up with Skip and his duct-taped hands having some kind of near-death experience while playing video games. That leads to the powerhouse trio of Veater, Dijols, and Chris Maher (Cole) finally sharing some screen time together, and there won’t be any objections to that – they’ve all been the heartbeat of this film. The supporting cast was equally strong with Trench, Jackson, and Gegel (Eric) – I think that Fox was insightful in choosing the right people to play the right characters. With about twenty minutes or so left, you’ll wonder how far Fox is willing to go when it comes to the impending darkness, but I felt like he and his cast navigated it well to reach an ending that made perfect sense for this film. I’m happy to give this three & a half stars outta five – it’s really about commitment…to the moment, to the time we have & to each other – and I think “Boardwalk Winter” deserves real accolades for the heart that it puts onscreen. |
|
|
More To Check Out.
|
