Four's A Bunch

Despite having grown up on the titular Brady Bunch-inspired tv show, the son of the director has had enough and so turns up on set without his costume or makeup on one day. I was going to give this a 1 or 2 star rating as the plot of him bringing a gun to set and just blowing away a cameraman to end proceedings was cold hearted and bleak as fuck. However the hilarious granny reaction to round out the film saved this from total disaster.

Seeing this on the screening room reminded me that I was meaning to review it. It stood out considerably as a sitcom parody -- in this way I very much enjoyed it. The 'twist' of the cameraman being shot was fairly interesting, however the fact that the film is basically 3 shots does get accentuated by this aspect. The writing, I guess, is a little flat too, with not much going on beyond the use of sitcom tropes and the profanity of the disgruntled actor. I can also see a number of issues with sound peaking, and a bit of a weird interaction between the high-key lighting and the main actress's makeup. But that said, the fact you used high-key lighting otherwise so effectively is really impressive, and the imitation of the retro sitcom format is actually very convincing. On that point you guys should be proud. Post-credits granny had everyone laughing. I enjoyed this, I must say, even if it was largely for the novelty.

I loved the multiple layers in this film. Kind of expected the bad language based on your team name. As for the film itself, I was initially thinking that period sitcom was a very interesting way to go, complete with the laugh track. Then it flipped on its head with the revealing that it was a sitcom within a film when the teenage boy gets rebellious about acting in the show. Plus the old lady scene at the end was great. Top job all round.

A stylised 1970's television soap scene goes from cheese to peas when an actor goes off the rails and fights with his director Dad. I loved the opening scenes of this film, the art direction and characters drew me in and got my attention as something fresh in the competition. It went downhill for me when the camera cut and the actors broke character. I like the concept of the darkness behind the scenes contrasting with the perfect world portrayed in front of the camera but the angriness and aggression needed some restraint to sell these moments better, it ramped up too quickly without taking the audience along with the characters.