The mockumentary is possibly one of the most difficult genres to master. The filmmaker must make the film believable, yet at the same time, make it enjoyable and laugh-out-loud funny. Jeff Huston’s Off Off Broadway falls somewhere in the middle, at moments it pleases, while at others you’re fending off a wandering mind.
Francis (Matt Kerr) is the playwright of All the Wild Stallions. It’s an epic of Cleopatrian proportions. At 693 pages and six hours in length, All the Wild Stallions is sure to catch the attention of its audience – right?
Bringing the story to life is a loveably unaware Ronnie (Benjamin Ellis Fine), the sugary sweet Eve (Sarah Kozinn) and the always volatile, yet intriguing Annabella (Margo Passalaqua). They have two weeks to pull it off and with 14-hour rehearsal days, they’re sure to make some magic happen.
As opening night approaches, Francis seems more concerned with the misspelling of his name in the program than the production itself. The riffs between cast members, all three of them, begin to grow and the volatility bubbling under the surface threatens to consume the project.
Overall, Off Off Broadway is a funny little film. Most of the major cast members are listed as writers on the project and the sense of collaboration jumps off the screen. Their comfort level gives the film the essence of realism and makes the joke much more enjoyable.
Crabb as Eddie delivers one of the greatest get-away lines ever. After its opening night performance, when a few members of the cast are enjoying a drink, Eddie informs the cast that he must go to “defrost some meat.” That is definitely going into my bag of cut-and-run lines.
Working against the film is its run time. At 81 minutes, the flick is 20 minutes too long and would have greatly benefited with some effort in the editing.
While not a top-notch mockumentary, Off Off Broadway will have you laughing, cringing and discussing the proper uses for horse-headed canes.
3 Yaps