DVD available at Amazon.com
Writer-Director:
James Westby
Cast:
Melik Malkasian……….Scotty Pelk
Tyler Gannon……….Niko
Matt Morris……….Brandon
John Breen………Mr. Johnson
Tara Walker………Kaitlin
Taylor Nida……….Taylor
Michelle Garner………Cindi
First Run Features presents Film Geek. Running time: 72 minutes. Not Rated. DVD release date: August 22, 2006. MSRP: $24.95.
Imagine a guy who is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to the subject of film. His knowledge goes way beyond that of the average movie fan, as he eats, drinks, and breathes the world of cinema, and all the stale popcorn that goes with it. That’s Scotty Pelk (Melik Makasian), film geek extraordinaire.
The problem with Scotty is that his entire life is film. Everything. Ask him a question about music and he’ll tell you his favorite artists are Danny Elfman, Jerry Goldsmith, and Bernard Hermann. All are film composers. He’s not into current events and probably couldn’t name the President of the United States if you asked him. As for relations with the opposite sex, let’s just say he’s a decade shy of being a 40-year-old virgin.
His awkwardness makes Napoleon Dynamite look like a high school varsity letterman. At least Napoleon has friends and a family to go home to. Scotty is alone. His apartment, probably roach infested, is a packrat delight. Scotty has the basic essentials: bed, bathroom, desk and a TV. Oh, stacks and stacks of videocassettes. It’s fitting then that Scotty, with his wealth of movie trivia, works at a video store called “Video Connections”. Low rent compared to the Blockbusters that most suburbanites flock to, Connections is the video palace that time forgot. No DVDs, wall-to-wall VHS tapes. A forum poster at Internet Movie Database, who had the same curiosity as me, e-mailed the writer-director James Westby about the prevailing depiction of videocassettes. Westby’s answer: “The omission of DVDs was (sort of) to make it feel somewhat anachronistic and more like an ’80s after school special. I realize how pretentious that sounds.”
Film Geek is pretentious, but it is that dated look that really stands out. Back in the early nineties I fondly remember the mom-and-pop stores I visited. Old posters that lined the walls a week or two before could be found rolled up, rubber bands on the ends, standing in a wastebasket with a “for sale” sign taped along the side. Nondescript movies, many I had never heard of, could be found with ease. Nowadays, Blockbuster favorites neglect vague titles in favor of more current hits.
Scotty and his video rental clerk job seem like a perfect match, until the manager starts getting complaints. As a walking encyclopedia, Scotty constantly shares his opinion of movies with customers who could care less about directors like Jean-Luc Godard or films like Cries and Whispers. He even goes as far to lecture his co-workers on why John Carpenter’s The Thing belongs in the Sci-Fi section not Horror. When he gets the boot, Scotty has separation anxiety. Needing an outlet, he visits all the video stores within walking distance, or as far as his bus pass can take him. Unfortunately nobody’s hiring.
But the endless bus trips have a silver lining. One day he sees a woman reading The Movies of David Cronenberg. Curiosity turns to obsession as Scotty becomes captivated by this mysterious woman. Her name is Niko (Tyler Gannon), a free-spirit artist who also loves movies. Why she takes to Scotty is not quite clear. Besides movies, what else is there to talk about? We get a sense that Niko’s just stringing him along, perhaps to get back at a jilted lover. This is a sad turn of events. Scotty may be an oddball but his peculiarity should not warrant such treatment.
Melik Malkasian’s understated performance as Scotty Pelk, the movie-obsessed video rental store clerk, will be appealing to some while infuriating others. His robotic, monotone voice wears thin as the walking encyclopeida’s one-trick pony routine loses luster. Though, Malkasian’s character is the personification of a socially inept man who slowly adjusts to life outside of film.
James Westby’s film is aesthetically free from major set pieces. Establishing shots and closed interiors are predominant. Film Geek is not bad for an independent film, with a budget that is somewhere between the cost of a postage stamp and the $400,000 needed for Napoleon Dynamite. The biggest problem is the story. At 72 minutes you wouldn’t think the movie would be repetitive. But situations double over similar ground. In the last ten minutes this intended romance comedy does a complete turn to show how Scotty and his movie website become overnight successes. Not sure why Westby felt the need to examine this in documentary-like fashion, as it feels like a quick roadside attraction on the way to Disneyland.
The ending is a bit to be desired as well. Watching, we are not entirely sure what is real. Did Scotty become famous? Was the syrupy ending realized? That’s for the individual watcher (preferably on DVD) to decide.
The DVD
THE VIDEO
(Presented in 1.33:1 full frame)
Shot using a Sony DV Camera, the picture quality is very good. Set lights were not used; instead, James Westby and his miniscule production crew (three or four, tops) went with a natural look. The result is a nice array of colors, like Scotty’s video store clerk uniform – an orange shirt. There is not a spot of dirt or print damage to be found, and no digital artifacts present. Not bad for a shoestring independent movie.
THE AUDIO
The audio, however, is less than desirable. That’s the breaks when it comes to low-budget movies. The picture can look exquisite, but if you lack the necessary boom mics and audio accoutrements, your movie will suffer. For what it’s worth, the music by Jason Wells, especially when watching the animated menu screen to start, kind of lulls you into a trance. Audio options are also lacking. There aren’t any. Nor are there selectable subtitles or closed captioning.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD comes in a standard keepcase with a promotional insert of various First Run Features titles. As far as real extras, the best is a short film by Westby entitled The Auteur. Melik Malkasian stars, dropping the whole film geek façade, as he is an adult film director recording an audio commentary for the DVD. Lasting only three minutes, it’s a fun piece as Malkasian expresses how the works of John Cassavetes influenced him as a pornography auteur.
There are also two deleted scenes from Film Geek for our viewing pleasure. The pair of deletions was wisely excised from the final cut, as they were mere extensions of scenes already in the feature.
Behind the Magic is a quick, low-key featurette that is probably the least enthusiastic I’ve ever seen. The participants seem disinterested to talk about their involvement, almost as if they were ashamed of the film. Considering James Westby worked as a video store clerk for 12 years before making Film Geek, this extra is nothing short of ironic.
The film’s theatrical trailer, a gallery of previews from upcoming releases by First Run Features, as well as Production Notes and Cast and Crew Bios complete the extras.
THE INSIDE PULSE
1 theater, 52 days, $17,341 total gross. Those numbers correspond to theatrical release of Film Geek. Even stranger is that despite playing in only one theater, the film got winning endorsements by critics Jeffrey Lyons (WNBC-TV) and Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) and Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock. Melik Malkasian adroitly plays the uber-film geek. A geek so unnerving that you wish somebody would rip his employee badge off his blinding orange work shirt. While this somewhat autobiographical tale of director James Westby’s life as a video rental clerk may hit too close to home for some film fans – especially those who engage in arguments about proper aspect ratios – they are sure to find more enjoyment than the causal movie watcher.
