BuzzSugar

Movie Preview: Bart Got a Room

BuzzSugar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:30:37 -0800

I saw Bart Got a Room at last year's Tribeca Film Festival and totally enjoyed it - if you'd like, you can read my review (without getting spoiled). Now there's a trailer for it and it's apparently "coming soon." I highly recommend putting this one on the to-see list for some time when you need a pretty light, easy movie that isn't too taxing, isn't too substantial and leaves you feeling good in the end.

Set in Florida, the movie follows Danny (Steven Kaplan), a teen who wants nothing more than to get some action on prom night. Over the course of the film, we watch the excruciating three weeks leading up to the big night as Danny secures everything (tux, limo, hotel room) - except for the girl. William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines play Danny's divorced parents while Alia Shawkat plays Danny's good friend.

It's a sweet little movie with some great Big Band music throughout. To check out the trailer, read more.

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Tribeca Review: Bart Got a Room

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:29:54 -0700

Bart Got a Room isn't high art and it's not fall-down funny, but it's easily the sweetest of all the Tribeca films I caught and the one movie I would wholeheartedly recommend. It's silly and goofy and fun, all the while washed in bright hypercolor Florida shades of pink and turquoise. It trots along quickly to swinging, squealing Big Band tunes, which is a funny juxtaposition of the old timers' Florida retirement community with the painfully hilarious adolescent experience at the center of the plot. At times the film seems to be reaching for something it can't quite grasp, but it still shakes out to be a great indie comedy.

Steven Kaplan plays high school senior Danny Stein, whose life’s challenge has come down to finding a date to the prom. Despite receiving an invitation from his best friend Camille (Alia Shawkat), Daniel wants a girl he can take back to the hotel room after the dance. And the hotel room has become the most important factor of all now that word has gotten around that "even Bart got a room.” The significance of this - and the elusive Bart's identity - is a mystery until the very end, but it’s clear that if even Bart's getting a room, then Danny Stein surely must have a prom to remember. So he goes on a quest for a prom date with the support of his divorced parents (William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines) who are each experiencing their own romantic adventures.

To see what else I thought of Bart Got a Room, read more.

The framing of time in the movie, with cards coming up to indicate “3 Months to Prom,” “2 Months to Prom,” etc. gives it a satisfying structure as Danny's quest for a prom date grows more and more frantic. Meanwhile, he dives into some of his biggest questions and concerns about relationships in general. He wonders if his parents maybe didn’t have to get divorced if they'd been more realistic about what relationships entail ("What's wrong with a little boredom?" he asks of his dad). He starts to realize that his date - and his prom experience overall - doesn’t have to be perfect, either. This whole movie is just sweet and lighthearted with an ending that left me wiping tears even as I laughed, not at all unlike the ending of Little Miss Sunshine. If you liked that movie, and funny indie films about bumbling high schoolers might make you laugh, you’d do well to check out Bart Got a Room someday.

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Link Time! 4/24

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:33:12 -0700

Vulture wonders which of this summer's superhero movies might suck.
When MTV Movies Blog caught up with Seth Green recently, he shot down all the rumors of an Austin Powers 4.
TV Squad has a look at some Saturday Night Live players who made it big.
Cinematical wonders: Who's more uncomfortable with onscreen nudity, men or women?
Want to see what Liz Lemon looked like in 1992? Give Me My Remote has the horrifying video.
Meanwhile, the TV Addict takes a look at Janeane Garofalo and Cherry Jones in the first photo from 24's seventh season.
Popwatch has a sneak peek at the Tribeca movie I recently told you about, Bart Got A Room.
Stereogum has heard all of the Evil Urges album, the latest from My Morning Jacket, and they have a lot to say about it.

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Tribeca Preview: Bart Got A Room

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:30:14 -0700

Sure, maybe we don't need another coming-of-age comedy with awkward geeky boys, but I'll still watch one. Especially one with William H. Macy who was funny/pathetic in his Sundance comedy The Deal (not to be confused with Deal, which should not be confused with 21 - or Rounders, as Brittfish pointed out), along with Cheryl Hines and Alia Shawkat (who is pretty busy these days).

The Tribeca description of Bart Got A Room states that "director and writer Brian Hecker takes us back in time to a quirky world full of plastic flamingos, golf carts, and teen anxiety." The pink flamingos and golf carts are because the movie's set in Florida. Teen anxiety, in this case, is caused by young Danny's (Steven Kaplan) desire to get some action on prom night. He's got everything - limo, tux, hotel room - except for the girl. Apparently the film follows Danny on an excruciating three weeks as he searches for a prom date. I seriously can't wait to see this one when I get to Tribeca.