Friday, September 25, 2009

The Blue Tooth Virgin



Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Friendship Tested by Brutal Honesty in Offbeat Buddy Comedy

Sam (Austin Peck) and David (Bryce Johnson) are best friends who have been pursuing the same profession since college. But while the former is a struggling screenwriter, the latter has hit it big as the editor of a trendy magazine.

Since Sam only briefly met with success with a short-lived TV series back in the beginning of his career, he has to deal not only with self-doubt but with increasingly caustic comments from his wife, Rebecca (Lauren Stamile), who resents having to be the breadwinner. She hints that now that he’s in his thirties, maybe it’s time to grow up and get a real job. Plus, she suspects that her husband is writing more for the validation than for the potential remuneration.

So, Sam continues to churn out script after script, never letting the last rejection discourage him. He asks David to critique his latest offering, “The Blue Tooth Virgin,” a character-driven thriller. But he wasn’t really prepared for the brutally-honest feedback he gets from his pal, who really doesn’t care for the screenplay at all. This reaction throws Sam for a loop, between his problems at home and the fact that Hollywood studios generally consider guys his age too old to have their finger on the pulse anymore.

Needless to say, David’s scathing review leads to a clash of egos, and the buddies’ relationship is subsequently tested whenever they get together, whether on the golf course or elsewhere. Crushed, Sam ends up crying on the couch of his less than sympathetic shrink, Dr. Christopher (Roma Maffia), and even enlisting the dubious assistance of Zena (Karen Black), a zany script consultant (Karen Black), to the tune of $1,500.

The Blue Tooth Virgin, the movie, is ostensibly far more delightful than the fictional script penned by Sam and denounced by David as a horrible nightmare. As hilarious as it is insightful, this contemplative comedy is likely to resonate most with anyone who has ever been an aspiring artist torn between conformity and chasing his or her dreams.

A primer on keeping the pedal to the proverbial medal when your whole world seems to have lost faith in you.

Excellent (3.5 stars)
Rated R for profanity and brief drug use.
Running time: 80 minutes
Studio: Regent Releasing

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