Zac Stanford – Cut To The Chase

Directed By: Arie Posen

Story By: Arie Posen and Zac Stanford

Written By: Zac Stanford

Cinematography: Lawrence Sher

Editor: William Scharf And Arthur Schmidt

Cast: Jamie Bell, Camilla Belle, Justin Chatwin, Lou Taylor Pucci, Rory Culkin, Glenn Close, Carrie Anne Moss, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Lauren Holly, Caroline Goodall, William Fichtner, John Heard, Allison Janney, Rita Wilson

a dark comedy about the lives of people who live in upper-class suburbia. It all begins when Dean Stiffle finds the body of his friend, Troy. He doesn’t bother telling any of the adults because he knows they won’t care. Everyone in town is too self-consumed to worry about anything else than themselves. And everybody is on some form of drug just to get themselves through the day. After Troy’s death, local drug dealers at the school run out of their stash. They convince Dean to get Troy’s stash or they are going to kill his brother that they kidnapped, but they grabbed the wrong kid.

This show is an intriguing failure that seems to be some sort of statement or satire on disaffected teens coming apart at the seams in suburbia after tranquilizing themselves on recreational drugs for so long that they seem to be scared of their own emotions. I wish the film played and explored more of what I just described.

Instead, the film seems more interested in the adult characters, who are not as deep and as types. This only makes their stories seem melodramatic or the product of a soap opera. Which makes one wonder how the film got such a powerful cast for a film that feels more like a desperate Housewives spin-off

The film seems to shy away from too much depth to focus more on the quirks and offbeat comedy.

The film is all surface but tries too hard at times to seem deep almost like a pretty girl reading an intellectual book and you notice over weeks each time you see her she is on the same page as she only does it for the attention or seems smarter than she might actually be

The ending feels too. The end feels too clean cut which one could see if this was based on pre-existing material but as it is an original production, it could’ve been worked on a bit more. It feels too self-serving, trying to please an audience instead of going for emotional truth.

It ends up playing more like a studio version of an independent coming-of-age film. With the parents so busy with themselves, they never pay attention to their own kids, even after one commits suicide, which might be blatant science for attention and help or even subconscious ones.. though the adults seem to anodize themselves with Work and each other as a form of hiding.

The film tries to tighten it like video games and not feeling real trying to achieve a numbness or doing things so that they can feel something. Not fall into the same traps and behavior as their parents, though it seems they easily follow suit.

Has a good score which other than the cast seems to be the most accomplished thing about it.

Grade: C

Directed by: Robert Schwartzman
Written By: Zac Stanford
Cinematography: Michael Rizzi
Editor: Max Goldblatt

Cast: Dan Folger, Emma Bell, Tyler James Williams, Maggie Q, Cleopatra Coleman, Danny Pudi, Karan Bear, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Mark Ryder, Marielle Scott, Charlotte McKinney

A couple gets into an argument at their cocktail party that escalates until it brings an abrupt end to the festivities. They and their guests decide to re-create the entire night, again and again, to determine who was right.

This is a film that just keeps building as it goes along. The energy starts to lick up and so do the laughs.

The film starts off funny then becomes a screwball comedic free for all by the end. As it continuously keeps raising the stakes. As the film stays unpredictable so It really comes up to speed in the second act. As the first is needed to set up the story and relationships.

As in each iteration, we get more information even though they are trying to recreate everything all over again there are different interpretations, inflections, and deliveries.

One can identify with overly examining events, words said, and themes. Pulling back another curtain offering another reveal which dissects the situation to offer more insight.

Though the cast is all great, Actress Cleopatra Coleman is a comedic highlight throughout. As she goes from being sexy, funny, insecure, drunk, over the top, emotional

The film is clearly an absurd farce at times that deals with egos and also examines the nature of memory relationships, body language, and things left unsaid.

It turns a bit obscure and even making a play in itself. Allowing real participants to be able to examine themselves. Not to mention what others might think and drag even more people into it. This time actors who are so and that it becomes comedic in itself and even them picking up on some subtle relationships and offering theories themselves.

It is also a film that offers up a commentary on entitlement. As each of the characters tries to be humble and some think themselves lowly when actually they have plenty of what others would envy. Which really comes into play during the third act.

Grade: B

Tag: Zac Stanford

THE CHUMSCRUBBER (2005)

THE ARGUMENT (2020)