Now in its 25th year, find out about this unique festival held annually in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese theatres. For all the details on films, dates and times, go to Danceswithfilms.com
Waiting for the Light to Change -– A slow moving drama about relationships among 20-something friends, one of which takes a dramatic change after one person’s simple physical change. This segment of their lives takes place over the course of a week-long beach getaway.
Two of the women discuss how one’s recent dramatic weight loss has made her more than interested in her best friend’s new boyfriend. But it is much more of a mood piece examining attitudes toward each other, sex, drugs, and life as they get high, let off steam and discuss their feelings
Directorial debut from Depaul Film School Masters graduate, Linh Tran,who co-wrote the film with Jewells Santos. Cast: Jin Park, Joyce Ha, Qun Chi, Sam Straley, Erik Barrientos. Slamdance Jury Prize winner. Our interview with Tran done recently at Chicago Critics Film Festival.
Heightened – Writer/Director Sara Friedman also stars in this rom/com about a woman with more anxiety than you can shake a stick at. Nora (Friedman) is post a mental breakdown. She’s OCD, and went back to live with her strange, controlling parents in Maine after a panic attack caused an incident while taking the bar exam. Her parents are enough to drive anyone mad.
Her mother, (Sarah Clarke) continually orders her around. Her father (Xander Berkeley), is a wuss. Both are alcoholics. So is Nora. Her court-ordered psychiatric treatment is to work with a young, handsome State Park Ranger, Dusty (Dave Register) who is just as anxiety ridden as she is. She wants to be a lawyer. He wants to be a Park supervisor to get back at his obnoxious step-brother, Mitch, who is his punishing superior. As Nora works with Dusty, they learn to trust and help each other which present some touching, but also embarrassing situations.
This film has a decent premise, but is slow moving with too many pauses and some abrupt editing changes that interrupt the flow of the story. Friedman and Dusty are pretty people and good actors, and you just know they’re going to end up together. But the film does deal with mental problems many are dealing with now, especially after going through COVID isolation. Friedman took on writing, directing and acting which is a lot to do making any film. We can see her potential.
Katie’s Mom – This film is supposed to be sexy, but it becomes more sleazy than teasie. It’s being touted as inspired by the classic film “The Graduate,” but the script is not as interesting nor creates as much comedy nor sexual tension. It borderlines sleazy rather than romantic . It’s about a well-off, but frustrated divorcée, Nancy, (Dina Meyer), who lives in L.A.. When difficult daughter, Katie, (Julie Tolchin) shows up with new boyfriend, Alex (Aaron Dominguez.), sexual tension grows as the boyfriend goes after Mom behind her daughter’s back.
Meyer is gorgeous and a good actress but the script is pretty predictable. Tolchin, plays her obnoxious daughter way over the top. Maybe she was directed to do so by Terrell Shaffner who co-wrote the script with Meryl Branch McTiernan. All of the performances are uneven, perhaps to try to make what is revealed a surprise. But we don’t think it works very well. Dominguez comes across more sleazy than sexy. and We half expected there to be a menage a trois. There were several moments when we rolled our eyes. It may have been satisfying for them, but not satisfying for us to watch.
