Small Pond

To endorse what timlin says above, this is a fairly humdrum movie but hey, isn't life? I have to admit to taking a break but resuming later, and I'm glad I did. Hari Leigh is the glue that holds it all together and her trials and tribulations are all too real, all too reminiscent of our own messy young lives, when we do foolish things, get stoned too much, do things we regret. Yet she is a survivor, and a fighter, and we want her to succeed. So basically we stick with it because we believe in the characters and we like them, which for me is kind of basic to a movie. If I hate everyone in it and they alienate me, I'm going to switch off. Oh and by the way, terrific soundtrack (though I guess they never released a soundtrack CD).

There are lots of movies about dude slackers, so one with a female protagonist at least has that going for it, though that doesn't exactly qualify as originality, especially since the "girl slob" character is rather overdone. But Hari Leigh's performance is pretty good, and let's be frank, she has a great rack, though unfortunately it isn't put to much use. At least she distracts from the rather thin plot, which is supported by lots of drinking scenes, sarcastic banter, even dream sequences, and of course episodes of "endearing slovenliness". But I give it credit for depicting a loser as a loser, rather than as someone strangely brilliant or surreptitiously blessed by the universe; and though of course the story arc is one of progress, it restrains itself from being anything special or dramatic. I know, not a very glowing review, but it's a mildly amusing story about a woman coming into adulthood that is most importantly not too annoying.

In a fairly short runtime of only eighty minutes, it takes little time to begin forming an impression, and truth be told it's not a great one, because 'Small pond' comes across as a grab bag of mediocrity. It's very indie and low-budget, which is fine, except the inexperience of filmmaker Josh Slates, co-writer Kirsten Straub, and many cast members shine through, and this is an instance where the fundamental image quality is rather glaring and painful on the eyes. It tries to be quirky and endearing sometimes, in the classic indie manner, but the doing feels forced; it tries to infuse some wry and dry humor, but we're not given enough reason to care about our protagonist so the effort instead just comes across as messy and/or mean. It wants to be a slice-of-life comedy-drama; it wants to be a homegrown portrait of a small town; it wants to be the story of a young woman who's having a hard time managing her life, and the doldrums of small town life - but none of these facets are entirely convincing. I'm glad for those who get something more out of it, but frankly, I think this flick is a waste of time.

Most of the acting quite seems to reflect a lack of developed skill; some actors come off better than others (including Hari Leigh and Amy Seimetz), but they instead suffer from the weak writing and/or direction, and the result is much the same. The narrative is all but nonexistent; the characters all but uniformly unlikable and unrelatable; the dialogue is all but rubbish; the scene writing is either wholly dull, or emptily overcharged; Slates' direction is flat and utterly unremarkable. There are some ideas in the screenplay that are promising - some bits that should be funny, some that should carry significant notes of drama, and some major themes that could have been explored more fully. None of these amount to anything with the ho-hum, lackluster tone that defines the proceedings from top to bottom. Not only does 'Small pond' fail to carry any weight, or make an impact, but for as lifeless as the movie is as it wastes any potential, it becomes actively disappointing and frustrating. Ultimately it's kind of hard to identify anything here that consistently comes off well. I feel bad even saying that, but here we are.

I recognize what the flick could have been, and should have been. Being so completely unable to strike a meaningful chord, however, I don't know what more to even say about the viewing experience except that it flounders almost from the moment it begins, and through to the very end. What substance the tale could have borne just never really shows up. I wish nothing but the best for all involved; may they grow in their skills and impress me in the future. Once more, I'm glad for those who get more out of this than I do. Nonetheless, I wish I had more wisely chosen to spend my time watching anything other than 'Small pond.'