All Reviews

Parallel Films: Crash; Steel Magnolias; Little Children; Magnolia; State & Main.

I don't give out accolades easily. I am sympathetic at the low end, but almost never give out five stars at the top end because I don't believe in perfect scripts. Still, this script is so good that I had to give it the benefit of the doubt. I will address negatives in a moment. First the positives: Round robin structure is hard to achieve because it's like juggling plates -- you just know one is going to fall, at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and for the wrong reason. The intricate counter-balance of action and character that is the round robin format requires a deft hand (in this case, two). There is but one false note in the entire script, and in that case it's easily fixed. The story starts out mildly amusing and somewhat confusing (as all round robins must), then it becomes really amusing, then vastly amusing, and before long I found myself laughing at a bunch of digits on my computer screen. No small feat, that.

This is not dry humor (State & Main), but rather broader, middle-American humor (Steel Magnolias), beer rather than whiskey. Still, it's very insightful, all of the characters pay off in satisfying ways, and by the second act if the reader/viewer isn't invested and waiting for the next of many shoes to drop, then nothing can entertain him.

Some caveats:

I don't believe that Bert would show up and whisk Angie away on his new chopper. There's no foreshadowing (although there is counter-foreshadowing, fingers tippling lightly at counterpoint).

This is an auteur project, usually written by the guy who directs it. It's a harder sell, I think, than something with a straight-forward structure, two leads, a bad guy, a mcguffin, and a resolution.

The writing here is first order. Kudos.

Reminded me of Short Cuts, except it's a lot funnier. Two bits did not work for me. The guy catching himself in his zipper (it was done a lot better in There's Something About Mary) and the guy having sex with the sofa. Maybe if he was drunk that last gag would work. He could be yelling, "Savoir-Faire! Savoir-Faire!"

Also I think you can get a lot more humor out of the salesman at the bar. I think he should be insulting the guy who won't return his calls.

"Son of a bitch bastard won't take my calls."
"Who are you trying to call?"
"Larry. Larry Soames. Bastard!"

Larry and the bartender look at each other.

"Well maybe he doesn't know you're calling."
"How can he not know? I been calling him all day. I am desperate. Oh my God."
"Well let me buy you a beer."
"No no no. I'm buying. You're good people. Not like that Larry bastard."

A few drunk rants about the guy who won't return the calls would really make that storyline pop. And then there would be two surprse reveals at the end. That this is Larry and he still likes the salesman.

Other than that, I got nothing but good feelings from this work. It's a bit tricky to read because there are so many characters and plotlines to follow. But when we see it on the screen I absolutely know this will work, and work very well. Brilliant structure, brilliant characters, brilliant dialog. Way to go.

Intersection is a simple yet true to life story that could happen to anyone and shows us just how funny life is, even though it doesn't seem so funny when we are living it. I loved the characters and how their lives were intertwined in the story. The characters felt real and the things that happened to them didn't feel contrived. It made me laugh, a lot.

I love a good yarn, and this is one. The Character's feel real, the incidents that take place could and probably have happened and I was drawn into the story. It made me laugh and I would love to see it in a theater. All and all a delightful read.