Marc Huestis' mini-feature (clocking in at precisely 56 minutes) may look crude and suffer from technical shortcomings, but it does one thing most indies of its ilk struggle to do: tell a coherent story. Cleverly built around a 1950s educational film, Whatever Happened to Susan Jane? Sees old schoolmates Marcie (the brilliant and perfectly cast Ann Block) and Susan Jane (the equally fine Francesca Rosa) reunited in early '80s San Francisco. Marcie is a straight-laced housewife whose eyes are opened to a whole new world of avant-garde art, drag queens, and punk rock, while Susan Jane - now going under the name Susanja - puts up with her old friend's surprise visit. For those of us familiar with The City in those far off days, this is a wonderful reminder of how things used to be before Silicon Valley workers overwhelmed the place.
2 Reviews
Dig those groovy Wasp Women
SkAbZ2 July 2002
Flips back and forth between black-n-white to color, as well as from past to present. The grainy film, super-low budget, and terribly exquisite over-acting remind me very much of an old 60's or 70's John Waters movie. Not to mention plethora drag queens and such seing as how this takes place the 1980's San Fransisco underground scene. What I found most interesting about the picture was the "school-house educational filmstrip" approach that the director used in the black and white scenes. Nice touch. I stumbled upon this in a Family Video Store. Glad I rented it.
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