The amazing thing about the new low-budget indie, 'Breakfast with Curtis', is how director Laura Colella is able to extract some exquisite performances from a completely amateur cast. What's more amazing is that her actors consist of herself and her boyfriend, along with all her neighbors in real life, that reside in two, three-story turn of the century houses, in a suburb outside of Providence, Rhode Island.
The inciting incident takes place five years prior to the main action of the story. The extremely introverted nine year old, Curtis, is chastised by neighbor Syd, for throwing rocks at his cat. Curtis' father, Simon, screams at Syd as he and his wife are eating a meal, lambasting him for threatening to crack his son's skull, which is obviously an inappropriate comment.
Fast forward to five years later. Curtis is now a very tall lad of fourteen years. The break into Act 2 occurs when Syd speaks to Curtis again through their adjoining yards, and offers him a job to create video blogs on Youtube, as an adjunct to his online publishing business. Curtis (who appears to be quite bright but is home-schooled due to his introversion), takes a while but finally agrees to Syd's proposal.
Theo Green as Syd steals the show as an aging hippie who shares a fount of stories with Curtis, who masterfully creates a series of recurring web episodes, which begin to garner a good number of Youtube Hits. Green reminds me of the irrepressible Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown from 'Back to the Future'. He's a natural actor who is completely convincing as a Bohemian from the 60s and 70s.
It's difficult to discern much of a plot here, but suffice it to say that by the end of the film, Curtis has come out of his shell, is now attending high school and interacting with kids of his own age. His father Simon, finally forgives Syd for the inappropriate outburst toward Curtis when he was nine, and joins all the neighbors in a sing-a-long on one of the front porches, revealing that he's actually a talented guitarist to boot.
Director Colella doesn't seem to know what to do with the supporting players, who are all quirky but undeveloped. We never do learn what, for example, Colella's character, Paola and her boyfriend, Frenchy, actually do, except smoke pot, and perhaps have threesomes, with a visiting female friend. One amusing scene involves all the female neighbors, who hold a giddy luncheon in the backyard. When Frenchy dresses up as one of the 'girls', they spend an uproarious afternoon with him, playing ping pong and generally reinforcing the already tight camaraderie amongst the neighbors. It's all fun stuff but no real sub-plots are generated (except perhaps for the unmasking of Simon, who is found to enjoy smoking marijuana with some of the neighbors).
There are very few directors who can also write strong scripts. In the case of Ms. Colella, her ear for dialogue is extraordinary. Developing a full-blown, compelling plot, is another thing entirely. Nonetheless, Ms. Colella's talent as a cinematographer, editor and director is undisputed (Check out the web episodes she creates for Curtis). I truly hope that the powers that be in Hollywood take notice of this gifted filmmaker who has proved she can create a dynamic, original film on such a shoestring budget!
The inciting incident takes place five years prior to the main action of the story. The extremely introverted nine year old, Curtis, is chastised by neighbor Syd, for throwing rocks at his cat. Curtis' father, Simon, screams at Syd as he and his wife are eating a meal, lambasting him for threatening to crack his son's skull, which is obviously an inappropriate comment.
Fast forward to five years later. Curtis is now a very tall lad of fourteen years. The break into Act 2 occurs when Syd speaks to Curtis again through their adjoining yards, and offers him a job to create video blogs on Youtube, as an adjunct to his online publishing business. Curtis (who appears to be quite bright but is home-schooled due to his introversion), takes a while but finally agrees to Syd's proposal.
Theo Green as Syd steals the show as an aging hippie who shares a fount of stories with Curtis, who masterfully creates a series of recurring web episodes, which begin to garner a good number of Youtube Hits. Green reminds me of the irrepressible Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown from 'Back to the Future'. He's a natural actor who is completely convincing as a Bohemian from the 60s and 70s.
It's difficult to discern much of a plot here, but suffice it to say that by the end of the film, Curtis has come out of his shell, is now attending high school and interacting with kids of his own age. His father Simon, finally forgives Syd for the inappropriate outburst toward Curtis when he was nine, and joins all the neighbors in a sing-a-long on one of the front porches, revealing that he's actually a talented guitarist to boot.
Director Colella doesn't seem to know what to do with the supporting players, who are all quirky but undeveloped. We never do learn what, for example, Colella's character, Paola and her boyfriend, Frenchy, actually do, except smoke pot, and perhaps have threesomes, with a visiting female friend. One amusing scene involves all the female neighbors, who hold a giddy luncheon in the backyard. When Frenchy dresses up as one of the 'girls', they spend an uproarious afternoon with him, playing ping pong and generally reinforcing the already tight camaraderie amongst the neighbors. It's all fun stuff but no real sub-plots are generated (except perhaps for the unmasking of Simon, who is found to enjoy smoking marijuana with some of the neighbors).
There are very few directors who can also write strong scripts. In the case of Ms. Colella, her ear for dialogue is extraordinary. Developing a full-blown, compelling plot, is another thing entirely. Nonetheless, Ms. Colella's talent as a cinematographer, editor and director is undisputed (Check out the web episodes she creates for Curtis). I truly hope that the powers that be in Hollywood take notice of this gifted filmmaker who has proved she can create a dynamic, original film on such a shoestring budget!