Who knows how you came to hear about this movie. Maybe you know someone who worked on it. Maybe you're a follower of LA's underground film scene. Or, like me, maybe it caught your eye at a video store going out of business sale. Aside from those possibilities there aren't a lot of ways to know about this great gem of a flick. But whatever brought you here, you'll be grateful for it after you see this film.
Not since discovering Christopher Guest ("Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", "A Mighty Wind") have I been so blown away by a new approach to comedy. The approach? Completely unpretentious, not afraid to make fun of itself, not creatively hindered by any constraints. The result is a comedy with the honesty and authenticity of a home movie but surprisingly impressive on a technical & artistic level. As long as you're not one of those moviegoers who insists on big budget Hollywood gloss and sweeping orchestral scores in every scene--as long as you're not a Kenneth Branaugh minion--you'll get a kick out of this flick.
"Here's the budget for this film," says writer/director Dan Mirvish in the behind-the-scenes feature, pulling out a crumpled wad of fives & tens from his pocket. The film's "production office" was literally the garage of his house packed with a crew of volunteers working for free. Actors were paid on average $75 per day, and the entire thing was finished in 17 days. Dan operated the camera (a Panasonic DV-100 which nowadays will run you about $65 on ebay). And the "soundtrack" was recorded live with the actors singing their lines to a guy playing an electronic keyboard off to the corner while filming. But you'll be absolutely amazed at how well it all came together, due to excellent camera-work, great acting and perhaps most of all a GENIUS script.
Yes, this was a no-budget production, but that seems to have squeezed out superhuman efforts from the entire cast & crew. If you're the sort of person who enjoys browsing Youtube for hilarious skits, you'll get a lotta laughs from "Open House". At times it seems to be making fun of itself with actors deliberately off-key or with ridiculous "choreography" (I love seeing police brutality to the tune of a bouncy C), but there are also some suddenly sobering moments like Sally Kellerman's beautiful singing of "Selling a Dream" or Anthony Rapp's stunningly dramatic monologue near the end. The story is surprisingly clever, unexpected and even action-packed. I daresay it's the most interesting real estate comedy I've ever seen. And of course there's the anthemic toe tapper "Fantabulous" which you can find with a google video search. If you like that scene, you can expect a bunch more like it. And then some.
For me, the highlights were Sally Kellerman (famous as "Hot Lips" on MASH & also Rodney Dangerfield's love interest in "Back to School") playing a hilariously cynical but spunky real estate agent, and the other knockout performance was Anthony Rapp ("Rent", "A Beautiful Mind" and does anyone remember the kid Daryl in "Adventures in Babysitting"?). Anthony plays the nerdy, spazzy, hyper-enthusiastic realtor with a very interesting secret to reveal by the end.
If you're a fan of the aforementioned Christopher Guest flicks, do not hesitate to check this out. I'm also reminded of the obscure comedy gems "Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance" (about a misfit girls' dance troupe competing in Australia) and "Believe!" an oddball comedy about multi-level-marketing salesmen. Watch them all be reminded that creative, low-budget films may ultimately be the saviors of cinema!
