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Relaxer (new Joel Potrykus film)

Started by Noodle Lizard, June 26, 2019, 09:10:50 PM

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Noodle Lizard

This is out now on VOD and such.

I loved Buzzard and his earlier film Ape (both starring the same guy, Joshua Burge), so I was looking forward to this greatly.  Having seen it now, I think I overall prefer the other two (still haven't finished The Alchemist's Cookbook) but it's a fascinating and uniquely grim film in its own right.

I won't get too much into it now because it probably does benefit from going in blank (wouldn't advise watching the trailer either), but I'd be curious to know what others thought of it as and when you see it.

non capisco

Loved Buzzard so will definitely check this out. Never has a bloke eating a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in real time been so oddly captivating.

bgmnts

When you wanna cuuuuuuum to the cinema and watch this?

Noodle Lizard

He's definitely got a style, Joel Potrykus.  Anything visual or thematic aside, each of his films will focus in quite unusual detail on poor-quality foodstuffs and sodas.  I also appreciate how his "slacker" characters feel absolutely realistic, in a way which is honestly quite rare to see, even with all the "indie" movies coming out now.  He doesn't shy away from characters being "boring" in the traditional sense, which in turn makes them far less boring than an overacted trope character they might become in another filmmaker's hands.  With very few exceptions (David Dastmalchian), you don't even see them as "actors" - presumably because a few of them aren't, by trade.  Really makes other films with similar characters feel remarkably shallow and inauthentic by comparison.  The protagonist's "mate" Dallas in this film is genuinely hilarious, without ever crossing the line into total broad parody.  Interesting to see Burge playing a character of similar standing to Buzzard and Ape, but with all confidence/arrogance completely stripped from him. 

Potrykus's films tread the line between being bizarrely aspirational (to people like me, anyway) and utterly grim.  It takes a premise like "you're an apathetic loner who casually scams the system to subsist comfortably" or "you're gonna sit on this couch and play videogames and eat pizza for hours" and then follows them to their darkest conclusion.  I remember somewhat wistfully saying to my wife early on in Relaxer: "To be honest, though, there is little better than sitting alone on the couch in your pants for a whole day eating and playing videogames".  By the end, I couldn't think of anything I wanted less.  It's similar to The Comedy in that way (which Potrykus cites as an influence) - they're almost excoriating and examining the negative effects of having no responsibility or purpose, despite how appealing it may initially seem.  I'm probably not making much sense there, but maybe one or two of you will relate.

Oh, and some of the reviews going on about how it's the "grossest movie of the year" ... are not entirely wrong, actually.  I had to take a nice long shower after it.

zomgmouse

Was just going to post about this. Really liked it and have added his other films to my list now. Such a bizarre energy and one that continues through - as said above - to an extreme logical conclusion.