FILM INFO: Off his pills and on the run from Marie Guvment, Ronald Slayback shows up at the apartment of childhood friend, Trevor Jones, seeking shelter.
WRITTEN BY: Joseph Aniska, Larry Traiger DIRECTED BY: Joseph Aniska, Larry Traiger GENRE: Comedy, Drama TIME: 145 minutes.
Do we have any classic Monty Python fans in the house? I am... and after the first few minutes of "It's A Wondrous Life" the comparisons were flying around my mind uncontrollably. It was all here. The sketchy and risky comedy. The crazy, trippy animated segments and even the general feel of the film, all reminded me of my all-time favorite comedy troupe... and their catalogue of films and television. I couldn't help but wonder if Joseph Aniska and Larry Traiger had Monty Python in mind when writing and creating this project, or if it was just zany luck. If I were to guess? I would say they knew exactly what they were doing, and at first I was thrilled. The description of this movie pretty much sums up what would be called the plot, but in reality... it's just one silly line, situation or character after another. An excuse to be funny. Sure. I personally found some deeper themes if you cared to look. Such as how medication really does help those who really need it, or the potential for disaster when talking about mental illness. Or living with it. All this however was far back in my mind. The main question? Will you laugh when watching? That depends. "It's A Wondrous Life" is essentially grade school comedy with a very adult -and vulgar- spin. Right up my alley but definitely not for everyone. Using that damn Monty Python comparison again, but if you like that... you'll like this. Sort of. You see reader, things are not all golden. The never ending spew of jokes "do" continue on, but by the end you may not even notice. Why? Because to be blunt... this movie is simply way longer than it should be. We're talking two and a half hours long and yes, that's two and a half hours of independent, low budget movie. Right smack dab in front of your eyes. By the first seventy five - eighty minutes, I was pretty much done, and quite dismayed when I noticed I still had so much more to go. There really is only so much of this zany, off-beat comedy you can take before your brain shuts down. Even watching a studio blockbuster, that clocks in around two and a half hours, can be really tough. So yes. I admit it... I had to take a little coffee break. When I came back to the film, it just wasn't the same. Is this a funny movie? Yes. Does it matter the story is shallow? Maybe even shallow on purpose? Not at all. That's part of the comedic charm. Does it start to drag once you hit that hour fifteen, hour twenty mark? You bet, and we'll discuss that below. Technically, "It's A Wondrous Life" is pretty much what you'd expect when watching a low budget indie film, from a production stand-point. Although better done than many, it still holds that visually telling signature of an independent movie. I did notice a feeling of reality television in certain segments, but that fit the mood just perfectly. Where this film does shine is in the writing and characters. There's some funny shit here. There's also a creepy, horror vibe that manifests from time to time, especially the final sequence. Creeepppyyy. The characters were all zany and loopy and completely over the top. Put simply, there are a lot of characters, but both the leading and supporting cast really did a fantastic job creating the weird mood of this title. Another thing to note is the awesome puppets. Frankly... I loved them! I especially love the rat, and his infamous one liner. Infamous in my mind anyhow. Mix the characters, style, puppets and animations and as I wrote above... If you liked the Python movies, you'll love this. Well, until you get your fill that is. Now. About the length - man oh man. It really is a lot to take in. Joseph and Larry should have hired an independent editor. Independent of the story, or the cast and crew. "It's A Wondrous Life" suffers what many indie films suffer... and that's the: "I love it... leave it in" syndrome. When you're so close to a production, it's near impossible to make the hard choices. Especially what to cut. To be blunt... there is no reason this movie needs to be two and a half hours. The comedy and story could all be done within ninety minutes. No question about that. Being equally honest: With a more reasonable length, and the fact I love this particular style... I could easily imagine scoring this film a four. For me however, it was just ridiculously long winded. To the point I had to take a break. Something to consider down the road maybe. In the end, for anyone who loves the genre and has the time, this is really a funny film. Especially if you can manage to watch it in two parts. Everything is here that makes a good movie. Just a little too much of it. I laughed. I groaned. I made it through. What more is left to write? All in all, an average comedy that could have been a stellar one. Had some cuts been made.
