Highball

It's a nice surprise to see so many famous names get together for a (very) low budget film like this (the end credits celebrate its being filmed in just six days). Even nicer than that is the incredibly witty dialogue and situations that are so perfectly satirized at a party. This film follows a group of couples (and the permutations therein) and their friends at three parties- a housewarming, Hallowe'en, and New Years. You've been to one of these parties. You know these people. There's the insufferable prick that keeps getting invited, theres the Grudge between two guys, there's the ex-girlfriend dating someone else now... etc. It's a BRILLIANTLY funny movie, and there it gets funnier each time you watch it- too many of them go over your head the first time round.

I love Noah Baumbach's other films, even Mr. Jealousy, and I've always been a big fan of Dean Wareham (and Luna), so I wondered why I'd never even heard about this particular film until so many years after it was released. I'm assuming that Mr. Baumbach tried to keep people from seeing it, because I went to see so many indie films back in the 90s, I wondered how I'd managed to miss it.

Watching Highball made me really appreciate things I normally take for granted in other films...things like direction, cinematography, lighting, editing, set design, acting, etc. There is so much more that goes into filmmaking besides hiring a group of actors to stand in front of a camera and read from a script. A mediocre script.

Maybe had they hired someone like Parker Posey to star in it, or just given Chris Eigeman a bigger role, the whole thing would have come together. But probably not.

That Ernie Fusco! What a character! He makes such funny films! HIGHBALL is no exception. I love this witty, underlit, six-day wonder so much! If you've seen any of Fusco's other films, then you know what you're in for. Just one question, who the heck is Noah Baumbach? See this movie. It'll make you want to be a big lizard next Halloween.

I actually read the IMDB user reviews of this film before I saw it. Many intelligent users had little good to say about the film, even those users who were very fond of Baumbach's other work. Despite this, I watched it anyway.

All right, so it's not a masterwork. Yes, the film was poorly edited, and no, there isn't much of a story. But the Baumbach wit is still present, and there are many hilarious moments in the film, enough that I rather enjoyed it. Ultimately, isn't that why we watch film? -Highball- might not make a great statement on the human condition, but at least it will make you laugh.

I could talk about what's wrong with this movie but the most important thing is I laughed out loud several times. That makes it worth the time I spent watching it and I would do it again. Oh yes, don't expect there to be any point to what is going on - there is none.