Halfway to Amarillo

Fun movie. Simple, sweet, doesn't overstay its welcome. Give it a watch, you won't regret it.

"Michael Coleman is working on a novel that will make or break his career. Halfway through, he completely loses the plot and comes down with a devastating case of "Writer's Block." The pressure of the situation causes him to lash out and lose his girlfriend, Naomi. At his lowest point, the main character from his novel, an outlaw named Eli West, leaps out of the novel and throws a wrench into Michael's life. As if that isn't bad enough, the villain of the novel, a crooked sheriff named Morgan Ambrose, follows shortly behind."

Im a big supporter of independent films, always have been. I saw the trailer for this film on Apple TV, it looked really funny so I bought it. I'm glad because it didn't disappoint. Funny story, great cast, and I loved the music.

It's about a young writer struggling with a bad case of writer's block halfway through his western novel, Sunset in Amarillo. While he can't seem to get unstuck, he does manage to make everyone around him miserable. After several attempts to get his characters moving again fail, the 1880 Texas outlaw, and the Amarillo sheriff pursuing him leap off his page. The actors are all great. The scene when the cowboy and sherif realize they are just made up characters is classic.

I loved this movie, so glad it got festival and audience love. It's a cowboy-meets-modern-comedy from newcomer Burt Binder with a lot of heart. The film touches on many different elements of being both human and...well, a human-like-character-come-to-life! Things like writers block, relationships, breakups, respect, love, cowboys, and very surprisingly, an emotional portrayal of unresolved grief.

I also appreciate that it's not too long, it doesn't drag on or feel full of itself. This movie is fun, clever, and surprisingly emotional at times; amazing first feature for writer/director/star Burt Binder.