Future '38

"Isn't this a nice party?" "There is something wrong with my herring!" "ISN'T THIS A NICE PARTY?!?"

Okay, lines like that make me laugh. And there were a lot of lines like that.

I'm a big fan of filmmaker Larry Blamire's work, starting with "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra". This film is made in a similar style, showing a great appreciation and love for its genre (although, not the SAME genre). Mostly unfamiliar actors accompany Betty Gilpin in this homage, and she may be unfamiliar to most, unless you've seen GLOW or the Margaret Mitchell series from earlier this year (I haven't yet, but I will). Loved the spiffy period jargon, and the predictions of future science wonders. (Missed smartphones by THAT much!) It was also great seeing Sean Young in a small but very prominent role. As a plus, it's pleasantly short, not that it couldn't have been longer, but sometimes you don't want a 2+ hour commitment to a movie.

This film sets out to do its thing and then sticks with it. In terms of a film experience, most of what I didn't like was almost certainly intentional in its mimicking of films from that era. I'm not a fan of those but I can't fault Future '38 for having the integrity to stick with them. Most of the obvious visual comedy fell flat for me but the film more than makes up for it and is worth watching alone simply for the wonderfully 1940s banter, especially that as delivered by the two leads.

To begin, this movie is not for everyone.

It creates and inhabits its own world. You'll either go along for the ride...or not.

For one thing, it's hard to categorize. Sci-fi? Well... sort of. Comedy? Hopefully. Romance? I think so. Satire? I sure hope so.

But if you do hop aboard, you'll be rewarded with more cleverness and originality than any ten other movies I've seen recently...combined.

I won't describe the plot. It's too weird, and doesn't matter that much anyway.

Just sit back, watch, enjoy, try to get all the hilarious details, and watch it again to see how much you missed the first time.

I was really sceptical about watching this, as these retro movies tend to cheap and boring. But "Future 38" was a delight to watch, good performances and some laugh out loud moments. Definitely recommended. Fun entertainment, I rate it 8/10