On the Rocks

It's kind of like a movie by Robert Altman but, like, if he smoked crack cocaine. Like if Robert Altman — esteemed director and famous filmmaker — smoked cocaine in its "crack" form, which is highly addictive. That's how I, personally, would review this feature film.

That sounds bad, because Robert Altman doing crack sounds like a bad thing. As in, crack is bad for you (i.e. unhealthy) and probably isn't conducive to a collaborative project.

But it's like Altman on crack in that there's many characters and there's sometimes overlapping dialogue and it's a little frenetic. It's a good movie! I gave it 10 stars here.

Tastefully anxious and relentlessly hilarious, this isn't your stereotypical indie lullaby. This is a film that won't let you rest.

What makes On The Rocks stand out is all the things it does not do. It does not meander (as most movies with heavily improvised dialogue often do), it does not forget that it is a comedy, it does not stop moving forward, and it does not lose its raw emotional center.

It's lean, trimmed of any hint of excess, with some scenes even cutting mid-sentence, but you won't miss a beat.

Hats off, ladies and gentlemen, a new voice has arrived in the feature world.

Indies usually fall flat with one dimensional characters that have strong desires backed by zero motive. They swear unnecessarily, they make huge life decisions at every turn, they make themselves cry because drama, and they have sex with each other because directors think audiences are dumb, easily manipulated perverts that can only relate to emotional intimacy through crying and coitus...

Alex and Ariel push back against this standard of 'Lifetime soap movie of the week' indie fare and construct chaotic, tumultuous (i.e. rocky) situations that feel authentic and have real consequences. This is also a credit to the wonderful acting work done by an up and coming ensemble cast.

You will laugh, you will cringe, and crying is optional because these directors give their audience and cast enough credit to react appropriately to the world they have created.

If I had to sum up On The Rocks in lay terms, I would say it is like if Robert Altman had smoked crack cocaine and made a movie.