John, Luke, and Andrew are three high school seniors with a bad case of senioritis. They think school is a complete waste of time, except for English class where they are reading the controversial ‘A Catcher in the Rye’. When the book is banned and all copies must be collected, these three boys protest by drawing vulgar graffiti on the bathroom wall. Subsequently, the boys are suspended.
During their week of suspension, the boys decide to get a motel room and learn about the world on their own terms – “Holden Caulfield-style” – instead of learning from school. The problem is, these boys are utterly clueless. They are all virgins, are all underage, have never tried drugs before; basically your typical sheltered suburban high school kids.
Over the course of these few days, each boy will lose his virginity in one way or another, one will try drugs, one will fall in love with a homeless woman, and all three will discover how great they have it back home.
Written by Andrew Edison and Luke Loftin (who play Andrew and Luke in the film) when they were seniors in high school themselves, Bindlestiffs is a hilarious, foul-mouthed, raunchy, and honest look into the mind of a budding young man. These three guys try so hard to be tough, but they’re really just kids. They have so much to experience and like every high school kid, they think they know it all. Their adventure gives them the dose of reality they need; and a lot of good stories to tell their friends, I’m sure.
Bindlestiffs had its premiere at Slamdance and won the Audience Award there earlier this year, and it became the first movie to be picked up by Kevin Smith and his new SModcast Pictures Presents banner. A wider release is planned for this summer, which is the perfect time for newly graduated high school students to appreciate it. I can see this movie gaining a cult following.
Bindlestiffs is Clueless for the next generation, only with three boys instead of three girls, and lots more language. It’s hilarious, heart felt, and shows some genuine creativity from these guys. The entire script was improv; during the Q&A after the screening at DIFF, Andrew and Luke said one of their biggest influences was Christopher Guest. Shooting the film took two years, and they were left with over 200 hours of footage that they had to edit down to an 80 minute film. It’s an ambitious project for first time filmmakers, and they nailed it.
The screening at DIFF that I attended had many walkouts. I’m not exactly sure what they were expecting, but I enjoyed myself completely. Out of all the films I’ve seen that the festival, this is the one that I’ve talked the most about. Bindlestiffs and its filmmakers have a definite hit on their hands.
