![]() There is fire behind all the bad PR smoke, to be sure. These days there are nationally marketed “no frack” temporary tattoos, t-shirts, hats, billboards, bumper stickers, and even a low-budget short zombie-environmental film called Frac Attack: Dawn of the Watershed. A person doesn’t need to understand how much noise and pollution will be caused by drilling a gas well in an urban area or what specific toxic soup is used to fracture a shale well in order to pick up the meaning of a yard sign that reads “Not in my fracking back yard!” or “I’ve been fracked over!” or “Don’t frack with me!”Īnd the word has gone far beyond yard signs or posters at protests. It’s a phenomenon that may be causing the industry more grief than all of the detailed complaints of health dangers and environmental impacts combined. Man Under Table wears thin near the hour mark, but that doesn’t devalue its overall take on the artist in the 21 st Century.Around the country, drilling opponents have seized on the word “frack” - short for hydraulic fracturing, the process of blasting millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals into a well hole to release trapped natural gas - and have used it so many ways that the word is becoming part of the lexicon of a large segment of the U.S. It’s artsy, super indie, and imaginative. Man Under Table is loaded with dry humor, but it’s very much a movie for creatives about creatives. Even a serious issue like fracking becomes superficial fodder to gain popularity.ĭespite some of the heavy commentary, there’s a lot of fun to be had marveling at the absurdist set-pieces filled with cardboard cutout people, gas masks, and laptops that date back to the 90s, at least. Sure, he reviews movies, but instead of analyzing her new film “Fracked Up,” he’d rather gush about the premier and the after-party. This isn’t just true of filmmaking but publishing as well.Įven vlogging is lampooned, specifically through the character of Lyle ( Robert Manion), a viral YouTuber of sorts and a sycophant of Custard who constantly name drops her to boost subscribers. It’s the truest dialogue in the film about why some creatives find success and others don’t. To paraphrase, Guy, deflated, admits that he’s often excited by all the possibilities and dreams he can imagine but admits he doesn’t have the money or connections to pursue them. One specific line really cuts through all the absurdity. It’s a funny scene but a sad commentary on art and consumerism. He doesn’t even need to present them with a script. He keeps them hooked by continually mentioning words he knows they want to hear. Just by dropping Custard’s name, they want to see his non-existent script. At one point, Guy meets with two studio execs. Buzz words like identity politics and content are used repeatedly. There’s so much commentary crammed into less than 90 minutes that it’s hard to keep track of it all. After all, doesn’t everyone want to publish or film something? The problem is, he has no clue about craft, so the project never materializes. Gerald wants to share his story with the world, so he hires Guy. First, it’s a film by indie darling Jill Custard ( Katy Fullan), and then it’s a writing project by Gerald (John Edmund Parcher). No matter where he goes, be it a bar or a restaurant, he’s constantly getting pulled into other people’s projects, sacrificing his own writing time in the process. Writer/director Noel David Taylor also stars as “The Guy,” a beleaguered writer living in a dystopian LA. At times, the jokes tire, but more scenes work than falter. The low-budget film is a mix of the theater of the absurd, dystopian drama, and a shrewd comedy on the nature of art and the struggles to create and find success. Anyone who has sat in a filmmaking or creative writing class will relate to a scene or two in the quirky Man Under Table.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |