10.23.13 | Catherine Gillam
This year there are over 200 films to be screened over eight days. That’s 25 films a day. And that’s impossible. So I’m here to help you pick out the best comedy films to watch during the festival. I’ve picked out one film per day to make sure you as many laughs in as possible.
My recommendation for Thursday, 10/24: MOP KING. Start the festival off right with this film is about Jed Wilkins, a live-at-home failing free-lance maid and an embarrassment to his family. While his parents and brother go on vacation without him, Jed runs into Deborah, tactless drifter girl who turns Jed’s life upside down. In the vein of NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, Dixon’s film makes it okay to laugh at the helpless and the hopeless. You can come to the world premiere of MOP KING on Thursday, 10/14 at the IMAX Theatre at 9:45 PM. Writer/director Ace Dixon will be in attendance.
My recommendation for Friday, 10/25: THE GOLDEN SCALLOP. This mockumentary-style film features three fried-fish restaurants fighting for the Golden Scallop Championship – the ultimate short order cooking contest. A food truck, a novelty eatery, and old favorite all vie for victory, but all their practice cannot prepare them for their head-to-head-to-head showdown. THE GOLDEN SCALLOP is presented with the dramatic short THE GOLDFISH at Rollins Theatre presented by Chipotle at 8:15 PM.
My recommendation for Saturday, 10/26: G.B.F. The Gay Best Friend is the ultimate fashion accessory for the trio of the school’s most popular girls. And when Tanner (Michael J. Willet) becomes its first openly gay student, the race begins as each of the girls tries to snatch him fist But Tanner must choose between his skyrocketing popularity and the friends he is leaving behind. Darren Stein (JAWBREAKER) returns with another comic send-up of high school clique culture, featuring Sasha Pieterse (Pretty Little Liars) and Xosha Roquemore (PRECIOUS). Stein will be in attendance for the showing at the Paramount Theatre at 9:30 PM.
My recommendation for Sunday, 10/27: I’M DATING YOU NOT. Centered on the complexities of workplace romances, this film perfectly captures the casual dating scene. Roberto wants something fun and light, but his hook-up, and co-worker, Paula had different ideas. What starts as something fun and convenient turns into something serious and way more than Roberta and Paula bargained for. I’M DATING YOU NOT will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles. You can catch the US premiere at Galaxy Highland 10 Theatre at 4:00 PM.
My recommendation for Monday, 10/28: THE LITTLE TIN MAN. Herman, a struggling dwarf actor, is tired of being typecast, so he auditions for the role of the Tin Man in in Martin Scorsese’s proposed remake of THE WIZARD OF OZ. With the help of his crush, the bartender after her heart, a restaurant dishwasher, and his closeted brother, Herman makes a unique audition tape. He hopes to catch Scorsese’s attention with a new scene featuring a lot of sexual tension between Dorothy – played by Herman’s crush – and the Tin Man. Both hilarious and heartwarming, THE LITTLE TIN MAN is sure to please. You can see the film at the Rollins Theatre presented by Chipotle at 9:30 PM.
My recommendation for Tuesday, 10/29: CRACKHEADS. This New Zealand film is having its US premiere at the festival this year and we are so excited to screen it. It is about four friends from all different walks of life – a priest, a psychologist, an actor, and a car salesman. Through a series of events, the four friends fall victim to methamphetamine addiction. As their lives fall apart and change forever, the audience is left laughing. Come see CRACKHEADS at the Alamo Drafthouse Village at 7:00 PM.
My recommendation for Wednesday, 10/30: THE BURNING FEELING. Adam Murphy has a great job, a great sex life, and a wonderful life. And now, Adam Murphy also has gonorrhea. It forces him to not only get in contact with every woman he slept with in the last 30 days, but to re-evaluate his life and the choices he has made. You can see the US premiere of this film at the Alamo Drafthouse Village at 10:00 PM.
My recommendation for Thursday, 10/31: WAKING. Everything seems to be falling to place for Ben, including having the perfect fiancé, except he can’t stop dreaming about Nadia after they run into each other at the park. The more he dreams, the deeper their relationship gets. And she is having the same dreams. He has to decide which life he wants: the one in reality or the one in his dreams. You can see this touching rom-com at the Hideout Theatre presented by KD College at 6:30 PM.