"Funny Pages" is the indie-est of indies. It kind of made me think of "Clerks" as shot by John Cassavetes. And "Kids" without the confrontational aspect.
Indeed, "Funny Pages" is so gritty and realistically shot that it feels like a documentary. You feel like a fly on the wall following its characters around. The performances are all natural, though some of the behaviour of its characters reveals its comedic aspirations.
The plot is also very small. It's about a kid who is an aspiring cartoonist who meets a guy who may or may not have worked at Image comics.
The movie is so realistic that that guy just seems like another unfortunate weirdo with uncharismatic traits, like some of the other characters, ie. The protagonist's friend with the acne and glasses and bad hair, and the fat guy who inexplicably got naked in front of the protag at the beginning of the movie.
In a Hollywood type flick, a character with importance to the main character would be differentiated from the rest somehow. His introduction would probably be climactic, he would be shot differently from the rest of the characters, they'd probably get a noted actor to play him. Think John Cusack in "Adultworld", or Willem Dafoe in "The Fault in Our Stars".
In real life, however, he'd just seem like an ordinary guy, and there'd be no reason to suspect he'd be more important to you than any other random person.
"Funny Pages" goes for the more realistic option here, as with everything else. The would-be mentor character is even quite annoying. They chose an actor with a prominent lisp, perhaps owing to the cleft palate he was apparently born with.
The movie is very realistic, and interesting by turns, but it's never really funny, and nor did I care that much about it.
Indeed, "Funny Pages" is so gritty and realistically shot that it feels like a documentary. You feel like a fly on the wall following its characters around. The performances are all natural, though some of the behaviour of its characters reveals its comedic aspirations.
The plot is also very small. It's about a kid who is an aspiring cartoonist who meets a guy who may or may not have worked at Image comics.
The movie is so realistic that that guy just seems like another unfortunate weirdo with uncharismatic traits, like some of the other characters, ie. The protagonist's friend with the acne and glasses and bad hair, and the fat guy who inexplicably got naked in front of the protag at the beginning of the movie.
In a Hollywood type flick, a character with importance to the main character would be differentiated from the rest somehow. His introduction would probably be climactic, he would be shot differently from the rest of the characters, they'd probably get a noted actor to play him. Think John Cusack in "Adultworld", or Willem Dafoe in "The Fault in Our Stars".
In real life, however, he'd just seem like an ordinary guy, and there'd be no reason to suspect he'd be more important to you than any other random person.
"Funny Pages" goes for the more realistic option here, as with everything else. The would-be mentor character is even quite annoying. They chose an actor with a prominent lisp, perhaps owing to the cleft palate he was apparently born with.
The movie is very realistic, and interesting by turns, but it's never really funny, and nor did I care that much about it.