My first memory from this morning is turning over to find Eric D. Snider mooning at me and asking me what my plan for the day is. Then I checked my email to find a link to this story from my pal, Moviefone’s Mike Ryan (who is becoming a frequent hero of these daily wrap-ups), regarding the true story behind Compliance. When we saw the film together yesterday, he grabbed my notebook halfway through the film to scribble “Nobody is this stupid!!!” He titled his email “okay, I was wrong.” Then I ate muffins in bed. It was the best morning at Sundance yet.
I made a quick run to the press ticketing office at Sundance HQ, looking for a ticket for The House I Live In for tomorrow and for Smashed on Friday. I’m anxious to see both, and ticketing alleviated my stress by sending me a confirmation email for my tickets before I could even sit down and settle in. Service!
My first film of the day was a 12:15 screening of Keep the Lights On at Eccles. It’s the largest venue the film will play at during Sundance, and while the theater didn’t sell out, it was about two-thirds full, and those in attendance seemed to eager and excited for the film. A relationship drama from New York filmmaker Ira Sachs, the film charts the slow collapse of a long-term relationship between two men in Gotham, mostly do the heavy drug use of one of them. It’s wrenching and a touch too slow for my tastes, but fans of Sachs will be all over it.
After that, it was a quick run to the Yarrow Hotel for the day’s sole real meal – a salad and a bowl of chili, wolfed down while finishing up my Save the Date review. Glamour, I tell you. I meet Snider at the Fresh Market (pictured above) to gather supplies for tonight’s annual Bloggerati Condo Gathering.
Next up is Oslo, August 31st. After Keep the Lights On, it’s tough to see another film about drug addiction and regret, but Oslo is beautifully lensed and wonderfully nostalgic. Review to come.
Third film of the day – Price Check at Eccles. I’ve been a fan of Parker Posey since Party Girl, so I was excited to check her out in a Sundance flick at Eccles. Unfortunately, Price Check is not a good time – it starts off slow and innocuous, a boring trifle, before going the one place it shouldn’t. The rest of it is a slow slide into muck. Review to come!
The final (Sundance) film of the day? Anothology horrof flick V/H/S. Most of our condo roommates came with, many of them lured by not only the film’s good buzz, but the promise of observing Allison and I losing our shit over a horror film, live and in person. Oh, you don’t know about our track record? Now you do.
The last film of the day, the last true film, is set to be MacGruber. Why? It’s become a bit of a Sundance tradition for most of us film bloggers to gather for one night to watch MacGruber and drink some of Utah’s finest beer together. I write this from the thick of the party. Currently here? Katey Rich, Matt Patches, Raffi Asdourian, Eric D. Snider, Allison Loring, William Goss, John Lichman, Dan Mecca, Jordan Raup, Ben Pearson, Matt Goldberg, Katie Calutti, Jenni Miller, Brian Kelley, Rudie Obias, Ethan Anderton, Alex Billington, Brandon Rohwer, and Germain Lussier. We’ll likely get kicked out of the hotel tonight. With bottles popping behind me, Patches singing “Moves Like Jagger,” and the promise of a MacGruber showing, I must sign off.
Tomorrow: Work, work, work, The House I Live In, and the the third “real meal” of the entire festival.
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Snuggle up with the rest of our Sundance 2012 coverage
Related Topics: Sundance
