directed by:
Daap P Orr written by: Daap P Orr genre: Drama |
We all understand the allure of the beautiful when it comes to potential relationships, but lest we forget, the most sparkling diamonds out there could easily be blinding if you looked at them in the wrong light. Paul's a guy just trying to figure things out and get himself hitched. He spent six months investing his time into Dasha, before discovering she'd actually been married to several other dudes. Wow. "Miss Or Misses" moves quickly – we never see Paul in a constant state of dejection, living on ramen noodles and never leaving his bed. Instead, he heals up like he's the emotional version of Wolverine after he spies a temporary worker named Alicia at the office, and it seems like he's ready to find love again. The drama comes in fast as we're introduced to Alicia's mom and her living situation, which is rough, to say the least. Mom's a drug addict, and her brother's a drug dealer. Neither of them seems to care about Alicia whatsoever, but to her credit, Alicia is clearly out of f**ks to give as well.
"That girl is the reason the world goes around," says Paul (Sergio Monda), who is clearly smitten beyond help when it comes to Alicia. Heck, he won't even let anyone close his office door while he's at work - in case it blocks his view/ability to see her. Oddly enough, I actually have some experience with Paul's odd situation – you have to move at lightning speed when you see someone at work that you've got your eye on, especially when they're just a temporary hire. They could be gone tomorrow, and if you're fully certain that you're staring (okay, ogling in this case) at your future, are you really going to let that slip away? So Paul, jumping the gun, and albeit armed with some of the worst lines to try and pick someone up, rushes right into the potential of another relationship & gets Alicia to agree to have dinner with him. If it's any consolation, my pickup lines weren't any better when I was in this scenario half a lifetime ago. I also have way too much experience with family - you don't exactly want to take your new loved one back home to meet, though they were only addicted to their own sadness, anger, depression, and narcissism, instead of drugs and guns like Alicia's is. Still, until you work up the courage to completely cut them off, you live in this weird state of limbo, knowing that eventually, the two separate lives you're leading will eventually cross at some point, and you end up in this weird state of paralytic emotional fear that never seems to subside long enough to catch your breath. The moments you spend away from all that bullshit are the best moments of your life, and you can see that's clearly the effect it's having on Alicia as she spends her time thrill-seeking & falling in love with Paul, who seems to be turning out to be Mr. Right after all. Hazel Caulfield, who plays Alicia, has such an extraordinary light behind her eyes that you couldn't possibly miss it, and to be truthful, she's about as perfect for this role as one could ever be. Despite what seems to be her own better judgement and a whole lot of unsolicited advice from friends, within only three months' time, she agrees to marry Paul. I told ya that "Miss Or Misses" moves quickly! Paul starts to get a sense of how much he might have had the blinders on one day in the kitchen - as he learns that Alicia doesn't cook and ain't exactly looking to be domesticated. "I clean, and you cook" is the deal he's offered, and she quickly rejects that. It forces Paul to re-examine what it is that he's looking for in a relationship, and whether or not he can live with it being completely one-sided for an entire lifetime. Alicia's willing to eat freakin' McDonald's three times a day if that's what it comes down to, rather than confront the many issues that seem to stop her from finding a way to split their responsibilities. Paul makes dinner for himself that day, and you can see that tensions boil over fast. Having been on both sides of this scenario myself, I can tell ya firsthand this ain't the one that works.
Quickly, it becomes painfully apparent that Paul should RUN, not walk, away from this engagement. You're not even forty minutes into this film before you realize just how messed up this could all get. "You think marriage is a contest in brinksmanship?" asks her friend – and the answer is clearly YES to all of us watching, Alicia clearly does. You end up starting to wonder how far Paul is willing to go for what he thinks is love, and it also introduces the question of how much of someone's past we can forgive and forget about in order to have the future we want. Trying to change someone into the person you want them to be is never a winning recipe for a great relationship…if I've learned anything, it always spells disaster. Alicia goes from seeming like the girl of his dreams into fast becoming an absolute psychopath. To complicate things even further, of course, Paul has got, like, the world's greatest mom. Alicia is so deeply damaged that she can't even fathom why he likes his mother so much - and feels like she has to compete somehow. I cannot express just how much Paul should be helping Alicia pack her f**king bags! For whatever reasons are inside of his head, he continues to try and make things work – so maybe he's the crazy one after all. Alicia's undoubtedly beautiful, but if Paul doesn't get his shit together soon and stand up for himself, she's likely going to consume them both & destroy anything left that's good about their relationship. Alicia's paranoia and angst are a truly toxic combination that erodes her own beauty. Writer/Director Daap P Orr scored big-time by having Hazel play this role…she absolutely nails how awful Alicia is and has us all screaming for her to stop being so damn insane! The supporting cast is also great. Characters like Martin (Byron Swiegers) and Nat (Tiggy Brown) as Alicia's best friend, play essential roles in this story. It's shot very cleanly, and Daap has not only shown much skill in how this story is presented but has written a deadly tale of manipulation, deceit and destruction that brilliantly twists itself – and us – into knots as we watch this relationship implode. Will Paul come to his senses in time, or will he choose a lifetime of eternal unhappiness? It's amazing how many people you've probably met in your own life that go through similarly abusive relationships and how long they try to make things work. Even Nat should leave this terrible, terrible woman behind in the rear-view forever, because she treats people in such shockingly bad ways, takes no accountability for it, and seems like she'll never ever change. Daap's done an incredible job of writing one of the worst characters that you'll ever encounter with Alicia - and created a highly memorable film that'll stick with you long after it's over. If anything, you might find "Miss Or Misses" to be TOO real at times. Do you know what I mean? As Natalie recounts the statistics on abusive relationships, we have to recognize that this story is so much more common than we'd likely want to admit. It can be shameful how people treat each other and what they think is acceptable behavior…and we can only hope that karma comes to sort out the bad from the good one day. I really enjoyed this movie for how horrible this story was at its core – and I mean that as the nicest of compliments! I'm going with a solid four stars out of five here, earned largely from the truly bulletproof strengths of Caulfield's performance, a tremendously commendable supporting cast, and the kind of writing that creates characters actors sincerely dream of playing one day, no matter how evil they might be! Heck, probably BECAUSE of that in many cases… I'm sure that Alicia is a million degrees different than Hazel is in her own life, and how fun it would be to play someone who's not like you at all. |
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