Sword of Trust

If you ever listen to Marc Maron's podcast, WTF, this is a movie you won't want to miss. Also for fans of the Netflix series Glow, you're already familiar with Marc's accessible, honest work on the little screen. Don't believe any of the negative reviews for this film. Marc's performance is a tour-de-force, just check out the New York Times review of this original masterpiece. It's a quirky comedy, perfect for summer. Expertly directed with a wonderful tone, the film is worth watching twice, at least. Come on people, do we all just need to keep seeing pre-awareness content out of the Marvel universe which is sucking the life force and brain cells from us all? Rally around original movies that feature real talent and genuine craftsmanship. Also Marc plays all the guitar on the soundtrack and it's nice to hear.

I don't get the reviews giving this 1-3 out of ten, it's actually quite funny if you're the sort of person that can appreciate subtle humour as opposed the the endless steam of crappy American comedies starring the same handful of actors, I'm looking at you Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd, Katherine Heigl etc. I can only imagine those low scores are from low brow people that believe the conspiracy nonsense this movie pokes fun at.

Cynthia (Jillian Bell) and her wife Mary (Michaela Watkins) visit Alabama, and learn that Cynthia has inherited a Civil War sword from her grandfather. They try to sell it to pawn shop owner Mel (Marc Maron), while Mel's slacker employee Nathaniel (Jon Bass) observes. But there's something special about the sword, which leads them to artifact collector "Kingpin" (David Bakkedahl).

7 Good The story, by Lynn Shelton and Mike O'Brien, is a rather silly, but makes an excellent framework for comedy improvisation. A story revision based on a script note added a nice touch of respect for southerners. Shelton does a very good job of directing. The main cast all deliver excellent comedy and good dramatic performances; Shelton herself is very good in a small dramatic role. Maron provides very good music.

Overall, I rate the film good.

Languages: English.

Rating: I don't think this film has a US rating (yet), but I'd guess it would rate a "R", for language.

Firstly this film is awful, about as funny as a root canal, and more tedious. I am certain that the only people giving it a passing grade of over three stars must be the poor put upon family members of the film's makers. Faux "authenticity" by having no script and non-actors (or lousy actors) serves whose interests? The audiences? Certainly not.

I have a lot of tolerance for low budget production, but not when there is no redeeming positive factor. GCI is expensive, but interesting storyline, characters or dialogue are not expensive. This clunker has none.

The "alternative reality" is present alright: someone with no talent went to film school and thinks that alone will suffice. It doesn't.

A lovely small scale film with a satisfying payoff. Exactly the sort of film she excelled at. And dammit I still can't believe she's gone. She'll never make all the wonderful films she could have made over the next forty years, and I feel that loss terribly.