As an indie author, I find it tough to get the word out about my book (shameless plug for Gasparilla's Treasure), and I know it's equally tough for indie film makers to get the word out about their films. So when I stumbled across "Action!!!" by Hillary J. Walker, I knew I wanted to share it with you.
Most of you know I am a production sound mixer in the film and television business, and there are a couple of must see movies for all of us in the film business (and anyone interested in the goings on of the set); "Living In Oblivion", and "And God Spoke". And now you must add "Action!!!" to the list.
Action!!! is a mocumentary, and if you're not familiar with mocumentaries, they are pretend documentaries. In Action!!!, Zach Andrews gets the opportunity to go behind the scenes of a big budget movie and shoot a documentary for a school project. We get to see all the shenanigans of a movie set through his lens. As he videos the cast and crew going about their daily business, and shoots interviews with them, we start to get a picture of some pretty crazy people living ridiculous lives.
Director Hillary J. Walker has given us larger than life characters with comically blown out of proportion traits, which is the charm of this film. From the extremely stressed out script supervisor, to the miserable alcoholic gaffer, Walker and her fellow cast did a masterful job bringing us characters we can enjoy laughing at. In fact, I laughed out loud when Tom, The Stand In said, "If I want to succeed, I must make somebody else fail." Or when in reference to script writing, JG The UPM said, "You're gonna have a lot of people that tell you not to sell out... They're lying." As a member of the movie business, I really enjoyed this little gem. A few minor negatives: First, there wasn't much of a story to thread the characters together, but I didn't care since the characters and their performances were so much fun to watch. Next, and this may be because I work in the business, I couldn't accept the setting as big budget movie, or the characters as working professionals. For me, it would have been more fitting if they were on a small movie, and the cast and crew all thought they were big shots. These two points took little away from a wonderfully performed, laugh out loud mocumentary.
The downloadable copy is available for $3.99, and the DVD for $9.99. For your copy or to check out the trailer, go to: http://www.filmbaby.com/films/6140
