A thief, another thief and an Indian chief.
(2013) Comedy (Self-Released) Justin Rice, Leo Fitzpatrick, Brian Charles Johnson, Laura Campbell, Reagan Leonard, Keith Leonard, Deshja Driggs-Hall, Susan Louise O’Conner, Gordon Joseph Weiss, Tom Cherwin, Jenny Bradley, Mark Bain, Jane Hollinger, Neal Huff, Nate Della Ratta, Michael Power, Jason Downs, Scott Hollinger, Wayne Pyle, Heidi K. Eklund, Mourka, Heather M. Kayal. Directed by Eddie Mullins
It’s no secret that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Resources are growing more and more scarce, a trend which is only going to get worse. The environment is pretty well screwed. Politicians dither and posture and do nothing and the well-to-do are positioning themselves to get their chunk of what remains. No wonder there are those who have given up on society.
Dirty Fred (Rice) and Bruho (Fitzpatrick) are two of those. They aren’t your average dropouts however – think of them as hipster survivalists. Absolute believers in the peak oil theories as espoused by M. King Hubbert, rather than find themselves a rathole to hunker down in, they instead prefer the high life of breaking into expensive vacation homes in the rural Catskills where they enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labors – until the liquor and food run out, the owners come back or they just plain get bored.
Fred fancies himself a bit of an intellectual whereas Bruho has almost a phobia about cars; he likes to wreck them but absolutely refuses to set foot in one, so the two of them wear down a lot of shoe leather. They indulge in random acts of vandalism and occasionally hook up with local girls…well Fred does anyway. Bruho doesn’t seem to have the interest in sex with either gender.
At a house party that they crash (which is, apparently, itself thrown without the knowledge of the residents of the house) they meet up with Jaiden (Johnson), a teenager tired of being picked on and marginalized. He begins as a tag along which Fred finds amusing but Jaiden has his uses – mainly to do the grunt work Fred is too lazy to do himself. However at a more refined house party that the boys crash, Fred hooks up with Reyna (Campbell) who soon discovers that these aren’t local boys and fascinated by their lifestyle, joins in. This Bruho seems extremely set against as adding a girl to the mix is only going to make trouble. However, as Fred is something of a dick, chances are she probably won’t be sticking around long.
This isn’t really a black comedy but more of a really dark grey. Mullins, a former film critic, hits a home run with his first feature. This could have easily descended into a miasma of indie cliche and hipster chic but thanks to a superior script and fine performances the movie is elevated to something different.
Fitzgerald and Rice have some terrific chemistry and play off of each other nicely. Their banter is genuine and organic and you don’t for an instant doubt that these guys haven’t been hanging around each other for ages. They have a comfortable familiarity with each other in that both Fred and Bruho know their roles and are content to keep to them.
Johnson reminded me of a Superbad-era Jonah Hill and that’s not a bad thing at all. He starts out as the odd man out but by the film’s end fits in nicely with the two main characters. Campbell gives the movie a nice twist, a strong and well-written female character which even in indie films can be kind of rare. She is flawed and unapologetic for those flaws and she holds her own with the male leads.
You might find yourself laughing out loud despite yourself; some of the wit here is droll and sometimes it’s one of those things where you find yourself shaking your head when you realize what you’re laughing at. The antisocial behavior and overall zeitgeist of the movie’s main characters may be off-putting to some and if you are offended by random acts of property destruction and disrespect to the haves of our society, you may want to find some other movie to see. Otherwise, this is one of the more intriguing narrative features at this year’s Florida Film Festival and an indie film to keep an eye out for at your local festival.
REASONS TO GO: Elicits much guilty laughter. Great chemistry between Rice and Fitzpatrick. Refreshingly oddball.
REASONS TO STAY: Some might not appreciate the antisocial behavior.
FAMILY VALUES: Quite a bit of foul language, some scenes of drunkenness and drug use, some sexuality, depictions of vandalizing and some violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Rice is also frontman for the indie rock band Bishop Allen.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/11/14: Rotten Tomatoes: no score yet. Metacritic: no score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Bellflower
FINAL RATING: 8/10
NEXT: Before I Disappear
Cinema365 
Since as of this date no user reviews on IMDb,I’ve read most of the so called critic reviews.Most of them like the film but I’m still not convinced if I want to spend my time watching it. I think I’ve spent more time reading reviews of the film than if I’d watched it in the first place……….
It’s quirky and it’s not for everybody. I think at the end of the day it’s really up to the individual. Critics can only tell you what they think of a film but not how you’re going to react to it. Everyone is different; the best thing you can possibly do is see for yourself and make up your own mind.