Name: A Girl Walks into a Bar (2011)
IMDb: link to Girl Walks into a Bar
Genres: Comedy, Indie Country of Origin: USA
Cast: Gil Bellows (Emmit Driver, cop), Xander Berkeley (Moe, cop), Alexis Bledel (Kim, drunk and high), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Teresa, one of the strippers), Rosario Dawson (June, hat check at the naked ping pong club), Danny DeVito (Aldo, gangster), Robert Forster (Dodge, ex con), Carla Gugino (Francine Driver, ex cop working with Sam), Josh Hartnett (Det. Sam Salazar), Zachary Quinto (Nick, the dentist), Michelle Ryan (Loretta), Lauren Lee Smith (Karen, dancer), Aaron Tveit (Henry, the pickpocket photographer), Amber Valletta (Camilla, bartender), Kevin Zegers (Billy), and even more actors.
Written and Directed by: Sebastian Gutierrez.
The Three Acts:
The initial tableaux:
Set in Los Angeles, California, mostly at night, almost entirely in 10 bars populated by cops, gangsters, strippers, bartenders, ex cons, dancers, singers, hat check girls, and naked ping pong players. The characters interact with each other in intertwining stories.
The action begins when Francine gets Nick to ask her to kill his wife, and records it on the sly. That sets the rest of the stories in motion, split across locations and small groups of characters.
Delineation of conflicts:
This is a film with an ensemble cast and intertwining stories. Each transaction between characters sets in motion other transactions.
Francine wants 20k USD now, so Nick goes to Aldo to get back some money he's 'invested.' Aldo can't get it the same night unless Nick does something for Aldo, namely rob the ping pong club. Nick meets his wife at the ping pong club, and they confess (her infidelity, his murder plans) and make up. While waiting for Nick, Francine visits various bars to track down a pickpocket who can get a picture back from Emmitt, her ex. Sam officially covers the action at the ping pong club, updates Francine when it's over, and ends up getting close to the hat check lady June.
Resolution:
Add in about 20 more interactions, and you have the film. The story threads finally converge with side effects.
One line summary: This was a pleasant indie ensemble 'feel good' movie.
Statistics:
Cinematography: 8/10 Almost all interiors, well framed, sufficient light for the cameras. The focus was a bit too soft for me in several passages.
Sound: 10/10 Just fine.
Acting: 8/10 The veteran actors were good (Carla Gugino, Danny DeVito, Xander Berkeley, Robert Forster, for instance), and most of the actors I was unfamiliar with were competent. Zachary Quinto was disappointing again, as expected. He has almost reached the level of deal breaker for me.
Screenplay: 8/10 The storylines came together fine, and I did have that 'feel good' at the end. I could have used a few more laughs during the main body of the film.
Final Rating: 8/10
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