This movie is such a mash-up of mainstream indie film clichés that it almost plays like a spoof of Sundance dramedies. You know the kind I mean: a dysfunctional, cynical group of individuals is forced to spend time together and end up reconnecting with each other and, after lots of wisecracking, '80s music interludes, and moments of forced poignancy -- regain their humanity. But if it were a spoof, it would be entertaining. The fact that it premiered at Sundance says a lot about the current state of independent cinema.
The only satisfaction one can get from watching THE SKELETON TWINS is keeping a checklist of indie film conventions that this movie recycles -- from overall themes, to plot devices, to performance style, to wacky musical interlude. If you've never seen an independent film, you might be impressed by the self-consciously quirky direction, the quote-unquote dark comedy, the lovable gay character (we know he's gay because he tells us so, several times, in the first ten minutes). I wish the filmmaker had spent more time developing three-dimensional characters instead of taking other people's shortcuts.
The only satisfaction one can get from watching THE SKELETON TWINS is keeping a checklist of indie film conventions that this movie recycles -- from overall themes, to plot devices, to performance style, to wacky musical interlude. If you've never seen an independent film, you might be impressed by the self-consciously quirky direction, the quote-unquote dark comedy, the lovable gay character (we know he's gay because he tells us so, several times, in the first ten minutes). I wish the filmmaker had spent more time developing three-dimensional characters instead of taking other people's shortcuts.