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Winner: Best Test Movie
Finalist: Best Test Movie
Semifinalist: Best Test Movie, Best Actor
 

Test movie information

Download this test movie

 
 

Reviews 213 reviews

Overall Recommendation:
4.3 stars
(213)
 
Premise:
4.3 stars
(208)
 
Story structure:
4.1 stars
(209)
 
Character:
4.2 stars
(209)
 
Dialogue:
4.0 stars
(209)
 
Emotion:
3.9 stars
(209)
 
 

Creative Notes

"Test" Movie
 

Project Forum

 
 

Synopsis

Nominated for December 2011 and 2011 Annual Best Test Movie Awards, I Think My Facebook Friend Is Dead is a heart-warming and hilarious comedy about Owen Dietz (Tyler Derench) and his three virtual friends Rishi Rao (Samba Schutte), Jeff Pants (Nick Troy), and the mysterious "MoBu" (Cyndee San Luis) who meet up in the real world to track down Owen’s online crush who has mysteriously gone "offline". This modern nerd-herd adventure is the mayor of all stories about friendship and love in the internet era.

"Can you really love somebody you don't really know?"
&
"Are your internet friends really your friends?"

Official Facebook Fan Page for Francisco's cut: http://www.facebook.com/pages...

Amazon Instant Page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...
 
 
Overall Recommendation:
4.3 stars
(213)
5 Stars:
53.99%
(115)
 
4 Stars:
28.64%
(61)
 
3 Stars:
14.08%
(30)
 
2 Stars:
1.41%
(3)
 
1 Stars:
1.88%
(4)
 
Premise:
4.3 stars
(208)
 
Story structure:
4.1 stars
(209)
 
Character:
4.2 stars
(209)
 
Dialogue:
4.0 stars
(209)
 
Emotion:
3.9 stars
(209)
 
 

Most helpful reviews

9 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent premise, masterful first 2.5 minutes, and plenty of laughs...a promising effort

Overall Recommendation:
3 stars
 
Premise:
4 stars
 
Story structure:
3 stars
 
Character:
3 stars
 
Dialogue:
3 stars
 
Emotion:
3 stars
 
Profileimage
February 16, 2012
Two minutes and thirty seconds into the film the plot was already neatly laid out. D'Mario's involvement in Jessica's disappearance was already hinted at, and Owen's reaction to the unfolding online romance is believable. That intro was beautifully done. Really, the film was overall a success in my mind. I laughed a good deal, and I even showed a few scenes to a friend who wasn't watching.

The characters are somewhat stock for films centered around a roadtrip, but none of them are bothersome. The most intriguing (visually and in terms of motivation) was clearly MoBu, but the competition between the male characters to demonstrate which is the best friend was a nice background touch (and could probably be played up throughout the story with more success).

Some genuinely memorable dialogue, notably the interaction among Jeff, Rishi, and the gas station attendant and also Rishi's "Motha Fu----" line. Conveying the legitimacy of an online romance is difficult, but two scenes that stood out as effective were the Farmville photo at Jessica's (or D'Mario's?) apartment and the "big red barn" line. Only one line stood out as being really ill-fit; it was was early on, when Rishi told Owen that Owen was glowing. Owen said something like, "I'm not pregnant." It's not funny; it's not clever; and as far as I can tell, it's not a common saying. It really felt like an opportunity for something funny and clever, but it didn't deliver.

Some constructive criticism:
The acting isn't top notch. It's not necessary that it be top notch, but the actors playing D'Mario and Owen (in that order) could simply be better. D'Mario's actor seems a bit uncomfortable playing a thug and saying thuggish things. That's a problem: because that's what he is. Owen's actor seems to be going for the Jesse Eisenberg/Michael Cera feel, but he's not as charismatic as either, and his character is less witty as well than those they play. As a result the character is flat and underwhelming at times. I get that he's a normal guy, but think of what someone like John Cusack did with very normal, everyday characters in (romantic) comedies.

I thought the car scene dragged on a bit long. It was only a six hour drive. I don't know offhand how much screen time it consumed, but it felt long and slow. I get that there would be a good deal of awkwardness with four relative strangers sitting in a car for six hours. I think that that sense could be conveyed in a shorter period of time. That would speed up the film and get it to LA sooner.

Even once the action arrives in LA, the film pacing seems a bit off. There are a good number of stops in a short time (at least the cafe, rap studio waiting room/sex room, gay club, two levels of the final apartment) that it felt like a side-scrolling video game, where you just keep walking and walking toward the end. The final scene was pretty anti-climactic after all that buildup.

I was actually imagining a somewhat darker or more sinister conclusion. D'Mario isn't portrayed as sufficiently pimpish to beat Jessica or really hold her against her will. He comes off as a laughable petty crook. But the sort of character that would be successful at believably keeping Jessica away from her phone and status updates would be much more like the Gary Oldman character in True Romance (and in fact the scene where Slater goes to rescue his would-be-prostitute girlfriend is much more what I had imagined playing out). The action doesn't have to take that turn, however, to be effective. Jessica doesn't have to be an almost-prostitute or even an actual prostitute. There just needs to be a more believable reason why she deviates so extremely from checking in online. And D'Mario needs to go to greater lengths to hold onto her at the end (think of all he went through leading up to that point). The Pants blog move isn't a bad idea to extricate the group from the situation, but it was a bit forced. If you go for a more comedic conclusion, D'Mario could land an acting gig as a result of his "audition" tape on Pants's blog (and they all live happily ever after). If you want a more serious ending, as the film seemed to go for, something else has to be done, I think. It was really the most unsatisfying scene in the film, and the whole problem was D'Mario.

All that said, the film is already better than many films I've paid to see. I wouldn't have been disappointed if I'd spent money watching this film (I saw it "for free" through Amazon Prime). The strongest points are that intro, Mo Bu (the actress and the character), and (in spurts) both the dialogue and (to a lesser degree) the romance. Find a way to build up the romantic aspect without overly contrived revelation scenes; I think that would be a huge boost. Good luck.
 
8 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Amazon - get that chequebook out

Overall Recommendation:
5 stars
 
Premise:
5 stars
 
Story structure:
5 stars
 
Character:
4 stars
 
Dialogue:
5 stars
 
Emotion:
4 stars
 
Finalist: Best Script, Best Sci-Fi/Action Script
Semifinalist: Best Script, Best Comedy Script, Best Sci-Fi/Action Script, Script Spotlight: Zombies vs. Gladiators Rewrite
 
Main1296393497
Birmingham, UK
January 07, 2012
This is a much shorter review than usual, since I think most things have been said already. Frankly, Amazon should simply buy this script, then pony up $10million for the film-makers to use this cast in a higher-production-values movie, then watch the bucks roll in.

Perhaps - and I'm being really picky here - less gun-play would mean a more satisfying and wider-appeal movie. Can the villains be less gangsta-rap? I feel like I've been watching these villains since the early 90s, and there's nothing really new about them? They only really work because the good guys are such fantastic characters.

Wouldn't it be funnier to have gangsta Country and Western, or something more mainstream?

I dunno, just throwing that out there. But this is really an amazing [test] movie, and I have no doubt a full release will follow eventually. It is the first live-action one I have been able to not only sit through without a break, but actually WANT to watch. Congratulations to all involved. You should be very proud.
 
3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Skeptical, but it won me!

Overall Recommendation:
5 stars
 
Premise:
5 stars
 
Story structure:
4 stars
 
Character:
5 stars
 
Dialogue:
5 stars
 
Emotion:
5 stars
 
Profileimage
santa clara
January 02, 2012
I had watched a few test movies from this site and was left very unimpressed. After seeing this is off of scriptshadow I figured I'd give it a shot -- I was very impressed. From the opening 5 minutes I could tell it would be a well-done endeavor. The actors did a great job bringing these four unique characters to life. This is timely, it says something and ultimately could be huge. I can see this being the type of film that would not just do well in the US but global.

That being said there are places it can improve. When the two guys put the guns to their head in a cafe, I was a little thrown. How does none of the workers or customers say or do anything? This whole sequence felt manufactured. Him wanting to make a phone call, at the exact time the bad guys are there. I assume they would at least take these guys outside. I chalk this up to limited budget and less locations.

I think one of the bigger areas to improve would be to tighten up the start and get to more crazy expeditions in the middle of the film. I felt these things were kind of crammed into a short period. In some of the locations most notably the Dreamz, I feel like there should have been more urgency from the characters. They kind of just were there. Some at the bar, some watching a show. It took me out for a bit. I'd expect these characters to be more active throughout. The ending and whole music producer thing felt a little done, so this could be a place to improve and was probably my least favorite part of the story.

Overall I was laughing a ton. This is a funny movie with funny performances and can easily see this being on the big screen. Jeff Pants was my favorite. His character was just so out there. The guy who played Rishi was really good, totally sold me on his character. Honestly in this type of movie I was surprised to see so much attention brought to the characters.

I know I'll see this in the theater one day. Good job all. Hope these notes help.
 

Most recent reviews

0 out of 0 people found the following review helpful:

amazing

Overall Recommendation:
5 stars
 
Premise:
5 stars
 
Story structure:
5 stars
 
Character:
5 stars
 
Dialogue:
5 stars
 
Emotion:
5 stars
 
Main1333776962
Rocky Mount
May 15, 2012
 
0 out of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great!

Overall Recommendation:
5 stars
 
Premise:
4 stars
 
Story structure:
5 stars
 
Character:
5 stars
 
Dialogue:
5 stars
 
Emotion:
4 stars
 
Profileimage

Ian

North Las Vegas
May 08, 2012
For an extremely low budget, test movie, this is really great. It sticks to the script and the actors are amazing. I think this should be made into a real film with a high budget.
 
0 out of 0 people found the following review helpful:

i like this movie

Overall Recommendation:
5 stars
 
Premise:
No rating
 
Story structure:
No rating
 
Character:
No rating
 
Dialogue:
No rating
 
Emotion:
No rating
 
Profileimage
April 28, 2012
 
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Prior paid assignments

Crew

Winner: Best Test Movie
Finalist: Best Test Movie
Semifinalist: Best Test Movie
 
Photo
Producer
 
Photo
Director of photography
 
Photo
Editor
 
Photo
Producer
 
Photo
2nd unit camera
 
 

Cast

Photo
as MOBU
 
Semifinalist: Best Actor
 
Photo
as OWEN DIETZ
 
Semifinalist: Best Actor
 
Photo
as JEFF PANTS
 
Semifinalist: Best Actor
 
Photo
as RISHI
 
Photo
as JESSICA
 
 

Project Information

Winner: Best Test Movie, Best Trailer, Best Script
Finalist: Best Test Movie, Best Trailer, Best Script, Best Comedy Script
Semifinalist: Best Test Movie, Best Trailer, Best Actor, Best Script, Best Comedy Script
 

I Think My Facebook Friend is Dead

I Think My Facebook Friend is Dead, Donnie's Project

(Comedy, Action and Adventure) "After receiving a series of panicked messages from a girl he's been Facebook-stalking, but never met, a meek agoraphobe wrangles his closest internet friends and journeys into the real world to find her, but ends up involved in much more. "