What Is It?
This is an independent film with the distinct honor of being the first movie to be released on YouTube.com. It is an all in one streaming file so you just click and watch. It is about a 20 something “Hipster” who gets up at open mike night and talks about how everything they are doing is stupid. He says that their entire generation is just a bunch of sarcastic, whiney, sad people and he wants to find sincerity. Within a cast of Zany Characters, just toned down enough to be real, he sets out to do nice things and put the most sincere statements on his t-shirts.
How Was It?
It was very funny. The acting was good and all the characters, though each very specifically represents a line of thinking, were believable and fun. It had a lot of great moments and quotable lines.
Is It Good For Kids?
There is no violence and the only nudity is his out of shape male roommate who plays gimmicky video games in his boxers and socks. What it lacks in the first two vices it makes up for in cussing. No one ever takes the Lord's name in vain but every other major cuss word is represented. (With movies like this and “Juno” doing Sweet and Personal, riddled with cuss words, how will hard boiled directors show that their characters are “bad”?) There is also a character who explains that she is hoping to find love by sleeping with multiple people. In a very funny scene, the main character is trying to apologize to anyone who has been wronged by society. A Jewish man holding hands with a black man come over and the only comment is “I just don't know where to start.”
What About Spiritual Issues?
This is an oddly interesting point in the movie. In this film, almost every major wrong idea people have about Christianity and philosophy is broken down. From “Christian's are bad because of the crusades” to “whatever makes you happy is the thing to do.” it's all torn down. You see a person try very hard to live to serve others and it starts to make him happy.
(Spoiler)
The major philosophical revelation comes from a guy at the bar. He explains that there has always been over privileged kids who think they are the only ones who know what is wrong with society. He ends with a story that tells you the world is awful but makes sense if you believe in love. When the man is asked if he believes in love he lets them know that he is a Christian. The odd thing here is that the line is “I'm a Christian you m----- ----er.”
What Is Your Recommendation?
This is a fun little film. It is reminiscent of Chillicothe. If you like it you can pay to down load it. (Most films you have to pay up front even if you hate it.) It's fun to watch and has a lot of good things to say. It also has a lot of things that will leave you scratching your head wondering “Why did they say it like that”?
If this is something you are going to watch with your older kids, you will want to talk about the issues. Otherwise, it might settle in their minds as the “hipster posturing” that it is trying to rebel against.
And here it is....