I was invited from a friend who is friends with one of the people who worked on this movie to a premiere screening in New York City. I like movies and all, but generally I find indie movies to be well...boring. I mostly went because I was told we'd be hanging out in the city afterward, so I figured I'd be sitting through some stereotypical indie flick about some social problem, trans-gender dad or whatever, but to my surprise Last Days of Simon was phenomenal! Originally by the title, I thought this would be a serious drama, but it was oddly a coming of age mello-drama about a young man named Simon, who pretty much parties all the time, works at a video game store and has his girlfriend in the beginning of the movie always bail him out of trouble all the time because her dad is a cop. Turns out she's been cheating on Simon for awhile, because she's sick of his antics, and in turn, the breakup causes Simon to rethink his life. The opening ten minutes of this movie really hit home, because it reminded me so much of what it was like being age 17 to 25 all over again. Every character throughout the movie reminds me of someone or combination of people I've met in either high school or college. All the characters are well thought out, perfectly performed by all no name actors and actresses, but definitely everyone of these performers will be going places in the years to come.
Visually the movie looked professional and like a Hollywood film. From what I was told, Last Days of Simon was done on a super tight budget, and these were pretty much all first time filmmakers. In no way did this movie look or feel like a low budget indie.
The movie switches constantly from being a comedy to a drama, knowing when to be funny and serious, very much so how life really works. As I was leaving the theater, some people said it reminded them of Clerks, but I would disagree. From what I saw, the movie was filmed in Jersey, and the similarities between this and Clerks end there. If anything, the dialog is very natural, sharp, and realistic just how Clerk's dialog is, but to compare this to Clerks is like comparing Star Wars to Star Trek. Yeah their both sci-fi, but they're not the same thing.
The movie has three very unexpected surprises, that you will not see coming, but thankfully they are well played out and are one hundred percent believable.
If I had any qualms with the movie, there was a projector problem in the beginning and the opening titles were cut off. Toward the last third of the movie, Last Days of Simon stays dramatic a little too long before the end sequence, but these are minor gripes.
Find a way to see this movie, you will not be disappointed. 10 out of 10!
Visually the movie looked professional and like a Hollywood film. From what I was told, Last Days of Simon was done on a super tight budget, and these were pretty much all first time filmmakers. In no way did this movie look or feel like a low budget indie.
The movie switches constantly from being a comedy to a drama, knowing when to be funny and serious, very much so how life really works. As I was leaving the theater, some people said it reminded them of Clerks, but I would disagree. From what I saw, the movie was filmed in Jersey, and the similarities between this and Clerks end there. If anything, the dialog is very natural, sharp, and realistic just how Clerk's dialog is, but to compare this to Clerks is like comparing Star Wars to Star Trek. Yeah their both sci-fi, but they're not the same thing.
The movie has three very unexpected surprises, that you will not see coming, but thankfully they are well played out and are one hundred percent believable.
If I had any qualms with the movie, there was a projector problem in the beginning and the opening titles were cut off. Toward the last third of the movie, Last Days of Simon stays dramatic a little too long before the end sequence, but these are minor gripes.
Find a way to see this movie, you will not be disappointed. 10 out of 10!
