Going to festivals and making a point of seeing first-time filmmakers is a hit or miss game. Finding a real gem from somebody who came out of nowhere is like no other feeling in movie watching. But most of the time I find myself stirring in my seat, listening to line after line of dialogue heavy on information and low on drama. Most of these films fall into a freshman sand trap of simply delivering bulky information to the audience, while relying on tricks to excite people. And when it's time for the audience to have a revelation, it winds up being a soliloquy that ends with a deep breath and a phrase like, "I guess you've got to forget somebody before you can really remember them." With the accessibility of equipment out there and the diversity of life experience, I'm surprised to see how homogenized the stories that show up at festivals can be.
Ten years ago, Ed Burns was one of these young filmmakers showing She's the One on the festival circuit. I felt with She's the One, Burns was way too polished. Now with The Groomsmen, he's revisited familiar territory and smoothed out the rough edges. In both films he's simply telling stories from what he knowsâ€"guys in Jersey struggling in relationships. That's it. No big twist, no non-linear timeline. Just a really authentic look at men loaded with emotions and no skills to express them. A simple story loaded with insight.
I've been to two weddings in the last month, so maybe I'm a little biased. The premise of The Groomsmen is five old friends reunite for a wedding. And I swear the conversations these men have are the ones I've been having all month. With guys with kids and unhappy wives. Or guys scared to death of having their first kid. Or guys who wish to god they even had a relationship so they could worry about having kids. Basically, the cast of Groomsmen is the cast of my life right now, and I can attest that Burns really hit the nail on the head.
Which got me thinking. So many other films at this festival (Waterfront) are banking on some really eccentric character (think Napoleon Dynamite) or a big secret being revealed. I enjoyed Groomsmen more than any of them. So why? Why aren't people taking a cue from Ed Burns and telling the stories right at their finger tips? I'd love to come to a festival and see a program without any road trip stories or zany comedies or surprise-twist thrillers. I would love instead to see a program with movie synopsis like, "A well-told day in the life of a single mom in Kansas," or "A taut drama about three middle-aged men who can't decide on where to go for dinner."
I guess my point is so many stories are dangling in front of our noses each day. Why do so many filmmakers go after the ones that have been done? Maybe because if it's been told before, it's more comfortable and it feels like there's less at risk?
