Budding Prospects

While in 1983 San Francisco, three guys get an opportunity to run a grow operation and make bank. This 30-minute piece goes no further and presents no focus beyond just that. Snooze. Some of the more experienced actors give a decent performance but nothing feels developed or of any quality in the slow moving Budding Prospects when so many other shorts deliver intrigue and grasp in only ten or so minutes. I really wanted to like it but just couldn't find the grounds nor to watch another minute that seemed like the past five minutes.

"In 1983, three hapless guys from San Francisco are lured from their sex and drugs lifestyle to the countryside to grow marijuana."

Amusing pilot episode of a possible new series from Amazon Studios. The director Terry Zwigoff has done some unique films. Notably, CRUMB, the documentary about the underground cartoonist R. Crumb (great film), and many will no doubt remember the edgy Christmas film BAD SANTA. Also GHOST WORLD is being released by Criterion in a couple months.

BUDDING PROSPECTS is based on the book by T.C. Boyle, an author I've found interesting in the past as well.

Hard to tell too much from a 30-minute pilot episode but it has a pretty good vibe; I was smiling through most of it. The humor stops short of becoming overly silly or stereotyped. Hopefully it will be fleshed out as an Amazon series. Based on Zwigoff's credits alone it will be interesting to see where it goes.