Drawing Flies

If you've never heard of 'Drawing Flies', i don't blame you. If you aren't a fan of Kevin Smith, i don't know how you even got ahold of this review. But, anyways, let's focus on the movie. Very interesting indeed. When Kevin Smith was making 'Mallrats' in 1995, two friends, Malcolm Ingram and Matt Gissing, recruited cast members for their own little movie. From the Mallrats cast members, they managed to catch Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Carmen Lee, Renne Humphrey, Ethan Suplee, Joey Lauren Adams, Scott Mosier and Kevin Smith himself. They managed to make this film which dissapeared pretty quickly. It never got a theatrical release and was only shown at small film festivals including Kevin Smith's own View Askew-fest 'Vulgarthon '98' and 'Vulgarthon 2000', festivals which feature films made by him and friends. Since then, it has became interest of all View Askew fans(Including me) who constantly bug Malcolm Ingram about it on Kevin's View Askew WWWBoard. One of the main reasons it was of interest to VA fans was because Kevin appeared as 'Silent Bob', a character he made famous in films like 'Clerks', 'Dogma' and most recently, 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'. On February 26th, it finally got its release on DVD along with a whole bunch of well-deserved extra features. After reading many reviews, it is, as Malcolm says in the commentary, 90 and 10. 90 percent of people don't like it and 10 percent do. I believe that i'm in the 10 percent of the people. The first time i saw it, i wasn't really sure what to think about it but the second time i saw it, i loved it. It's a really good film. The plot follows Donner(Jason Lee), Jake(Martin Brooks), Az(Jason Mewes), Meg(Rennee Humphrey) and Cassidy(Carmen Lee) who all live off welfare in Canada but one fateful day, they are cut off of welfare and have to find a way to survive. Donner suggests to go to his uncle's cabin in the middle of the woods. But what his friends don't know is the fact that he is going crazy and is actually looking for the legendary Bigfoot. Needless to say, chaos ensues as Donner gets more and more crazy. I really thought the comedy was funny, the drama was moving and the film overall was the kind of film Hollywood should be making but if Hollywood did, they would probably butcher it up. I highly recommend seeing 'Drawing Flies', it's the kind of movie that only comes around once in a century(Yes, you heard me. A century!).

9 1/2 out of 10

I would have to agree with allot of the comments I read on this movie. The sound is a big part of why people may not like it. Although, I must say I was expecting the worst ... so when I saw it the sound actually didn't bother me. You can totally tell the points in the movie where the sound is really bad. Just keep in mind, that this is an independent film and with that I don't think you will be disappointed. I have been a big fan of the Kevin Smith movies. I have all of them on Dvd and decided to see what other movies he was connected to. When I saw "Drawing Flies", I noticed it was PACKED with many of the actors that make up Smith movies. Even smith (himself) makes a debut in this movie. I would have to say if you are a Kevin Smith fan (even though this is NOT a Kevin smith movie) you will enjoy it. Probably because you see many familiar faces. If you are not interested in a low budget Kevin smith type movie, then I suggest you take a pass. I bought this movie through amazon before I watched it. I kind of got nervous when I read the reviews, thinking I wasted my money. I just finished watching it and would have to say it was not a waste. I look forward to seeing the director's cut and sharing this with other K.S. fans. I would recommend adding this to your dvd collection, or at least renting it.

*** out of **** I really enjoyed this neat little Canadian Gem. It was funny, interesting, realistic, creepy, and original. I've seen it four times now, and it is just as good as when i saw it the first.

A group of slackers have no money and are on the verge of actually getting a job when one of them, Donner(Jason Lee), wants to go to his uncle's cabin in the woods with them. What they don't realize is that Donner is going insane and really just wants to look for Sasquach. They're too stoned to realize this though and proceed with him into the woods.

The best thing about this film is definitely Jason Lee's performance. He gives so much depth and personality that could have otherwise been disposable. The rest of the characters are pretty much spot on. They are mostly likable, especially Renee Humphrey's character. The only one who doesn't quite work is Jason Mewes, although he is still funny as usual. In fact, the only real reason why his character doesn't work is because he practically plays the same person as he usually does. But he's good at it, so it doesn't really matter. Carmen Lee gives the film a nice dose of sanity while Martin Brooks does his thing.

I love the rough feel of the film and i like how deadpan it is. It is perfectly enjoyable. Maybe not life changing, but still pretty cool. Check it out, if you can find it!!! I showed it to my little sister and she loved it!!!

One of the things I enjoyed most when I began to seriously study films was finding (at art houses, for the most part, or at screenings on college campuses) the early efforts of neophyte filmmakers. DRAWING FLIES reminds me of the feeling of satisfaction one gets after a long, arduous search when one comes away from a new discovery feeling that the running time was time well spent. At no point in the proceedings was I bored. There may be some unevenness (mostly of a technical nature, which is the bane of all no-budget productions), but this is excellent low budget filmmaking; take it from someone who's been there and done that. Would make a good double-bill with Onur Tukel's black and white first film, HOUSE OF PANCAKES.

I finally tracked down a copy of Drawing Flies on DVD - O.K., I had to go on holiday to Canada, but I got it, and that's the main thing! To be honest, I wasn't expecting much, as pretty much all I knew about the film apart from the View Askew connection was that it was very low budget, and in black & white. However, it's got a very `Clerks` style of script (no bad thing), and some sharp and witty lines. Unfortunately, to me, the script seems just a little underdeveloped. Not bad, just, not quite fully rounded. But hey it's low budget, and fun ... perhaps I'm being overcritical. The cameos are fun to spot - mostly under assumed names, too - and the cast seem to be having a whale of a time. One thought - wonder if the makers of The Blair Witch Project ever saw this film? Black and white / Lost in the woods / mysterious monster lurking / injuries / fallings out ....... Hmmmmmmm