Director:
Brian A. Green
Studio/Production Company:
Chesire Smile Productions
Genre:
Comedy
Sub-Genre:
Drama
Length:
Feature
Awards Won:
Los Angeles DIY Festival -- Best Dramatic feature, screenplay.
Palm Beach Film Festival -- Feature Directing Debut
Philadelphia First Glance -- Best feature
Website:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366517/trailers
Score:
2/5
It should not take the savvy viewer of films too long to sniff out what is going on here. “Fish Without A Bicycle” written by and starring Jenna Mattison, is not a movie, it is a commercial for Jenna Mattison and while there is nothing inherently wrong with an actress creating a vehicle for herself, it is, ultimately about as interesting as a 30 second commercial. Now, this is not to say that “Fish Without A Bicycle” is not without it’s charms, it just seems to place more value on the charms and less on compelling drama --- “I’m young, I’m beautiful, I’m cool, I’ve got my choice of two hot guys but I don’t know what I want to do with my life” might be a reality for some people but in the context of this film, it is nearly impossible to become invested in the plight of this main character.
However, once it establishes itself as one of those films where beautiful young things in the city sit around, smoke, drink and talk and talk and talk in an incredibly witty, sharp, philosophical and, if possible, littered with references to pop culture manner, “Fish Without A Bicycle” is pleasant enough, even at times amusing.
Mattison plays Juliana, an aspiring actress living with her boyfriend (Brad Rowe), a hunky fireman. When she auditions for a play and somehow allows herself to be swept off of her feet by the vain, narcissistic director (Brian Callen) who tells her that he is going to sweep her off her feet, Julia finds herself caught between the guy she no longer wants to be with and the guy she realizes that she might have been better off not being with. Predictably, this trauma leads her to decide that she needs to go find herself so she camps out at the apartment of her best friend Vick (Jennifer Blanc), a ravishing, cynical tough cookie who knows it all and wants to give Juliana some direction in life.
The film does have an undeniable, grungy “Sex And The City” kind of vibe and it is funny to see Mattison and Blanc play off of each other. The film does deserve special credit for not backing away from some less savory elements of life as a hot girl in the city, including a scene that depicts swallowing a certain bodily fluid --- from somebody else’s body --- and another scene featuring perhaps the cinema’s most graphic depiction of a projectile used tampon.
Technically, the modestly budgeted film is attractive enough, with solid production values, decent cinematography and editing. Director Brian A. Green – yes, he is that guy from the original “Beverly Hills, 90210” – does a perfectly good job of setting the scenes and keeping the action moving as well as contributing to the proceedings onscreen in an important supporting role. In fact Blanc, who sinks her teeth deep into a really juicy role, and Green both deliver the films most appealing performances.
Ultimately, the responsibility for the films ups and downs really belongs to Mattison, whose screenplay really could have used a few more drafts, not so much for the dialogue, which crackles along amusingly but for the structure of the story, which does not crackle at all, in fact, it sort of meanders and creeps along awkwardly, sometimes ultimately committing that cardinal sin of filmmaking: becoming boring.
So, “Fish Without A Bicycle” might find an audience, people do like movies like this but those people might like this one more if they put it on in the background while they do something else because, on the surface, that’s all there is, surface, and a lot of really attractive actors and actresses straining to act like they are so real that you cannot tell that they are acting.
Brian A. Green
Studio/Production Company:
Chesire Smile Productions
Genre:
Comedy
Sub-Genre:
Drama
Length:
Feature
Awards Won:
Los Angeles DIY Festival -- Best Dramatic feature, screenplay.
Palm Beach Film Festival -- Feature Directing Debut
Philadelphia First Glance -- Best feature
Website:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366517/trailers
Score:
2/5
It should not take the savvy viewer of films too long to sniff out what is going on here. “Fish Without A Bicycle” written by and starring Jenna Mattison, is not a movie, it is a commercial for Jenna Mattison and while there is nothing inherently wrong with an actress creating a vehicle for herself, it is, ultimately about as interesting as a 30 second commercial. Now, this is not to say that “Fish Without A Bicycle” is not without it’s charms, it just seems to place more value on the charms and less on compelling drama --- “I’m young, I’m beautiful, I’m cool, I’ve got my choice of two hot guys but I don’t know what I want to do with my life” might be a reality for some people but in the context of this film, it is nearly impossible to become invested in the plight of this main character.
However, once it establishes itself as one of those films where beautiful young things in the city sit around, smoke, drink and talk and talk and talk in an incredibly witty, sharp, philosophical and, if possible, littered with references to pop culture manner, “Fish Without A Bicycle” is pleasant enough, even at times amusing.
Mattison plays Juliana, an aspiring actress living with her boyfriend (Brad Rowe), a hunky fireman. When she auditions for a play and somehow allows herself to be swept off of her feet by the vain, narcissistic director (Brian Callen) who tells her that he is going to sweep her off her feet, Julia finds herself caught between the guy she no longer wants to be with and the guy she realizes that she might have been better off not being with. Predictably, this trauma leads her to decide that she needs to go find herself so she camps out at the apartment of her best friend Vick (Jennifer Blanc), a ravishing, cynical tough cookie who knows it all and wants to give Juliana some direction in life.
The film does have an undeniable, grungy “Sex And The City” kind of vibe and it is funny to see Mattison and Blanc play off of each other. The film does deserve special credit for not backing away from some less savory elements of life as a hot girl in the city, including a scene that depicts swallowing a certain bodily fluid --- from somebody else’s body --- and another scene featuring perhaps the cinema’s most graphic depiction of a projectile used tampon.
Technically, the modestly budgeted film is attractive enough, with solid production values, decent cinematography and editing. Director Brian A. Green – yes, he is that guy from the original “Beverly Hills, 90210” – does a perfectly good job of setting the scenes and keeping the action moving as well as contributing to the proceedings onscreen in an important supporting role. In fact Blanc, who sinks her teeth deep into a really juicy role, and Green both deliver the films most appealing performances.
Ultimately, the responsibility for the films ups and downs really belongs to Mattison, whose screenplay really could have used a few more drafts, not so much for the dialogue, which crackles along amusingly but for the structure of the story, which does not crackle at all, in fact, it sort of meanders and creeps along awkwardly, sometimes ultimately committing that cardinal sin of filmmaking: becoming boring.
So, “Fish Without A Bicycle” might find an audience, people do like movies like this but those people might like this one more if they put it on in the background while they do something else because, on the surface, that’s all there is, surface, and a lot of really attractive actors and actresses straining to act like they are so real that you cannot tell that they are acting.