20140112: Drama Review--Sexy Evil Genius

Sexy Evil Genius

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2013, rated R, 91 minutes, drama, comedy, mystery, thriller.
2. IMDB: 5.6/10.0 from 1,684 audience ratings.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No reviews yet,' 46% liked it from 206 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.4/5.0 from 26,571 audience ratings.
5. Directed by: Shawn Piller. Written by: Scott Lew.
6. Starring: Seth Green as Zachary Newman, Michelle Tractenberg as Miranda Prague, Katee Sackhoff as Nikki Franklyn,  Anthony Michael Hall as Mark Von Dutch, Harold Perrineau as Marvin Coolidge, William Baldwin as Bert Mayfaire.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Zachary arrives at a bar because Nikki asked to meet her there.  Miranda joins him at 8:00 pm.  They talk, mostly about Nikki.  Marvin shows up at 8:30, looking for Zachary and Miranda.  The stories about Nikki continue.  All three of them had received one sort of wonderful thing or another from Nikki, and all of them had been lied to in different ways.


2. Miranda says that Nikki called her from an insane asylum, where Nikki had been found innocent by reason of insanity of murdering a stalker.  They wonder whether any of this was true.  Miranda says yes, she had googled Nikki's case, and found plenty of authentic public records about her legal situation.  They discuss Nikki's stalker, Mark, and his public records.


3. Nikki shows up at 9:00, knowing that the three of them have been talking about her the whole time.  She tells them Bert will show up next.  Bert is her lawyer, lover, and fiance.  The discussions continue, especially about Nikki's arrest for murdering Mark.  Mark was her lover after she left Marvin.  They were heroin junkies together.  Insanity entered in somewhere; she killed Marvin, and did not know it.


4. Bert says that he stays with Nikki because he is certain she has been cured of her mental condition.  She now sees that her previous homicidal thoughts toward Marvin and the others were parts of her insanity and have to be let go.


5. The writing here is just brilliant.  Nikki uses Marvin, Miranda, and Zachary to help pressure Bert in to accepting a wedding date roughly a year in the future.  Also, she wanted Zachary to meet Miranda.


6. This is only the beginning of the film.  These smart people who know Nikki have a lot more to do before this encounter is over.  Nikki is mightily challenged by Bert, a man who is a 'better liar than I am.'  Bert on the other hand, thinks of Nikki as 'walking Viagra.'


7. The peeling away of layers of story together with re-interpretations of previous statements continues. 


8. How does this end?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Brilliant, cerebral, funny, engaging; fine acting, fine script.
2. Five stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 Some of the best low-light photography I've ever seen.  Very atmospheric.


2. Sound: 10/10 No problems.


3. Acting: 10/10  Best performance I've ever seen from Michelle Trachtenberg and from Seth Green.  Katee Sackhoff, Harold Perrineau, and William Baldwin were great.


4. Screenplay: 10/10 One of the best, tightest scripts I've seen in a long time.