THE MINI is a funny, sweet, often laugh-out-loud surprise of an Indy film. This Mini has a BIG heart and it's pitch-perfect in its aim and no-budget execution. I caught a screening of it at the Temecula Valley Film Festival this fall. It played to a packed house. Later, I also caught it again on DVD, it was so much fun. The Temecula Valley Film Fest crowd I saw it with loved it. It's a low-budget comedy about the under dog geek in us all as we just try to get by, do our job, find the-significant-other-of-our-dreams and run that mini-marathon of life. This film is so true to itself and hasn't an ounce of pretension in it. The performances are spot-on and wonderfully endearing. The film's director creates a sense of good will right from the start that remains infectious. Maybe it won't cure cancer or change the world, but it's a refreshing tonic to so much of the self-important, terribly hipper-than-thou Indy nonsense that seems to wash up wherever you turn now. The Q & A session at the Temecula Fest with director Ron Beck was a revelation and inspiration to all Indy filmmakers out there. Beck wrote a solid, funny script and then, with no previous film-making experience to speak of, he maxed out a couple of credit cards and for about half what the average person would spend on a year's college tuition he assembled a terrific cast and production crew and just did the thing. I can't help thinking that this is sort of like the "El Mariachi" of super-geek comedies. Beck has a great story sense, plays the laughs and emotions perfectly and made a very nice film. Beck and company deserve much credit and thanks for this little gem. If he writes another script and he and his gang make another film, I'll certainly buy a ticket.
