Farah Goes Bang

I screened Meera Menon's 1st feature film at the Tribeca Film Festival and was very impressed. Farah Goes Bang is like Route 66 meets the vagina monologues, complete with a witty script, great music, and a story of political idealism coming crashing down in the face of reality. Farah (Nikohl Boosheri) & her two friends from California, KJ (Kandis Erickson) and Roopa (Kiran Deol) travel to Ohio during the 2004 US Presidential election to campaign for Senator John Kerry. Ignoring the advice of organizers, the threesome test their campaign skills with stops in Amarillo, Texas and Flagstaff, Arizona. The result is some hilarious exchanges and racist incidents in the non-swing states. Reporting for duty in Ohio, they stay at KJ's family cottage, where she has fond memories spending time with her brother Ryan, who was killed in Iraq. We of course know the outcome of this race, but Farah has another goal to lose her virginity, and the film nicely captures these 20-something dynamics. Kandis Erickson turns in a brilliant 1st time acting performance as KJ. The script and dialogue move the film along at a nice pace, and the score complements a great story. The film is Menon's directorial debut and the film shows an amazing appreciation of the craft.