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Gap Weekend
USA 2021
produced by Art Hall, Todd Norwood, Robb Padgett for Mill Pond Productions
directed by Todd Norwood
starring Art Hall, Rosie Koocher, Nicola Graham, Robb Padgett, David Shofner, Sara J. Stuckey, Bryan Bertone, Tanya Ihnen, Christopher Blaauw, Sarah Nicklin, Kelly Christopher, Cruz Kim, Kaleena Massaker, Joe Spence, Mike Barroga
written by Todd Norwood, music by Robb Padgett
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Ever since his girlfriend Veronica (Sarah Nicklin) has left him, travel
blogger Ben (Art Hall) hasn't been the same: Not only has he abandoned his
blog and abandoned travelling, he has also lost all motivation and has
moved in with his sister Sandy (Nicola Graham) and her husband Oliver (Rob
Padgett) to sulk while sleeping on their couch. Now especially Oliver
really wants him out, not out of spite but to get their privacy back, and
tries to hook him up with woman after woman - but to little avail, as Ben
compares them all with his ex. Then though Ben has an idea: How about a
"gap weekend", to spend a "romantic" weekend with a
woman he doesn't know pretending they're in a relationship and acting it
out - though without any actual intimacy let alone sex involved. He puts
an ad out on the internet and gets responses from mostly prostitutes and
weirdoes - and from Emily (Rosie Koocher), pretty much the only woman who
takes his proposal seriously for what it is, a very interesting experience
with a definite time limit. So they have their weekend together, and
really take a liking to one another. And even if they visit all the places
that he has loved to go to with Veronica, she manages to break his shell
and open up to the world. And he feels he really develops feelings for
Emily as well, even if that was not what was supposed to happen. But on
the plus side, he's suddenly good seeing Veronica with her new boyfriend
(Bryan Bertone). But he's all the more hurt when he finds out Emily isn't
all she was supposed to be ... While packed into the wrapping
of a romantic comedy, and being suitably light-hearted and at times really
funny at that, this is a film that really has a very differentiated take
on relationships, longterm or otherwise, and can only be commended for not
favouring one over the other or romantizising things just to hammer a
point home. And the thing is also helped by the very relatable
performances by the two leads, who really manage to conjure up the right
chemistry to make their pseudo-relationship believable on a pseudo-level -
and fortunately the directorial effort remains subtle enough to give the
story and characters enough air to breathe, to make this one really nice
movie, even if romantic comedies are absolutely not your cup of tea.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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