Caught this at the Cinema 21 in Portland, Oregon last week - and was knocked over by how funny it was.
James Westby continues to improve as filmmaker - delivering his most polished, unrepentant comedy yet. Melik Malkasian kicks in a strong performance as the veteran Spanish porn director Domingo - who parlays a retrospective of his classic films into a half-pickled, ego roller-coaster involving his estranged wife (Cara Seymour in a choice role) and his favorite male porn actor (John Breen).
Full of shameless pot-smoking, nudity and sex - Westby manages to push the trash envelope while keeping the script tight and intelligent. This one is full of choice zingers and great (sometimes uncomfortable) laughs. The audience I watched this with was howling all throughout - something I haven't seen in years. The vibe was a cross between John Waters and Judd Aptaow - shameless and sharp. At the same time, the film has a certain dramatic sweetness - as you watch Domingo struggle to recover his mojo, you start to root for him, despite his personal shortcomings.
Easily one of the funniest indie films in recent memory - and hopefully a harbinger of things to come from this team.
