Chance
VHS
***
Directed by
Amber Benson
Written by
Amber Benson
Cast
Amber Benson
James Marsters
Christine Estabrook
Andrew Hallett
Tressa Di Figlia
Rayder Woods
Jeff Ricketts
Nate Barlow
Shamus Murphy
David Fury
Cathy Doe
Patrick Beller
Lara Boyd Rhodes
Rupert Cole
Jaimie Linn
Grant Langston
unrated
75 min
www.chancemovie.com
First off you did NOT read any of those credits wrong.
This
is actually a movie brought to us by Amber Benson and James Marsters of
the now-defunct (unless you count the inevitable DVD and syndication)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is, in fact, the first from Amber and
family's production company, the obviously titled Benson Entertainment.
Which
of course begs the question. These two are among the biggest names in
horror fiction today. Buffy was an institution. Anyone claiming
otherwise, simply fails to grasp the concept of "institution". What
kind of follow up can do the appropriate justice and respect to the
exemplary careers of the one and only Tara and Spike themselves?
The answer?
They
didn't even TRY, folks. This is a shot out of left field in a totally
different direction that will blindside viewers like a 747 falling out
of the sky and hitting a pedestrian on the sidewalk.
What we
have here is the story of a marginally regular girl, Chance (hence the
title) living with her pretty damn bizarre roommate, Simon. Chance is
off on the immortal crusade for that One Special Man. It's a crusade
we're all amply familiar with, on one end or the other, and it has all
the pratfalls one might expect. Benign stalker neighbors, guys who weep
publicly and imprison girls in cars hoping to "talk like (they) used
to," dumb schmucks who talk about MOSS, that kind of thing.
We
couldn't get more existential than this. We're gonna be tackling all
the biggies on this one--life, death, sex, double standards,
telemarketing, parents getting divorced late in life, and everything in
between and beyond.
And we roll on through this gigantic pinball
machine of a movie, bouncing back and forth from topic to topic, with
seemingly little in the way of overmastering point. But actually...who
cares? This is slice-of-life at its best. Following Chance around on
her frenetic, pretty much pointless life isn't a half bad ride.
Check
out the 'pure-t' originality Chance is riding here. Check out the
opening voice over. Not one minute in and it's original. Check out the
multi-pronged conversation at the one hour mark. Check out the truly
awesome (I STILL can't believe that's the best word here but it really
really IS!) scenes on the boat around the forty five minute mark. This
is like nothing else out there. This is the kind of work that Kevin
Smith would KILL to have in his arsenal if he weren't busy pounding Jay
and Silent Bob into the collective unconscious like so many steel
railspikes.
It's not going to be for everybody. People hoping
that Benson and Marsters would ride the 'Buffy wave' on into
direct-to-video horror titles are going to be heartbroken. There will
be at least ONE total loser who's so utterly shattered by a 'non-Spike'
Marsters that he will do something stupid, illegal, or both. Possibly
ending in corpses.
Maybe Chance was the best thing for Benson,
Marsters, and their ilk. Sure, Sarah Michelle Gellar went on to destroy
Hollywood in a truly Cobra Commander fashion by having a hand in the
making of the Scooby-Doo franchise (the concept of which STILL makes me
shudder in balls-out revulsion), but Benson and Marsters are GROWING.
They've made this incredible quantum leap from a part of an
institution, being a piece of a whole, to maybe starting a whole of
their own.
Damn, that makes you think.
The ending is
actually a serious surprise, in light of the events that led up to it.
But then, from the profoundly disconnected nature of what we just
watched, ANYTHING would have been a surprise. An ending with Chance and
Simon quietly playing Scrabble would've been a surprise. It's not hard
to be surprising when you've just spent seventy-five minutes bouncing
around like a Superball in a wind tunnel.
The special features are sparse in nature--just a handful of outtakes.
All
in all, Chance is a highly original and truly interesting romantic
comedy which if viewed by itself, on its own merits, is actually pretty
pleasant. Sure, it's not the best of follow-ups if viewed in the long
run, but you don't HAVE to view it in the long run. Just watch it.
VHS
***
Directed by
Amber Benson
Written by
Amber Benson
Cast
Amber Benson
James Marsters
Christine Estabrook
Andrew Hallett
Tressa Di Figlia
Rayder Woods
Jeff Ricketts
Nate Barlow
Shamus Murphy
David Fury
Cathy Doe
Patrick Beller
Lara Boyd Rhodes
Rupert Cole
Jaimie Linn
Grant Langston
unrated
75 min
www.chancemovie.com
First off you did NOT read any of those credits wrong.
This
is actually a movie brought to us by Amber Benson and James Marsters of
the now-defunct (unless you count the inevitable DVD and syndication)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is, in fact, the first from Amber and
family's production company, the obviously titled Benson Entertainment.
Which
of course begs the question. These two are among the biggest names in
horror fiction today. Buffy was an institution. Anyone claiming
otherwise, simply fails to grasp the concept of "institution". What
kind of follow up can do the appropriate justice and respect to the
exemplary careers of the one and only Tara and Spike themselves?
The answer?
They
didn't even TRY, folks. This is a shot out of left field in a totally
different direction that will blindside viewers like a 747 falling out
of the sky and hitting a pedestrian on the sidewalk.
What we
have here is the story of a marginally regular girl, Chance (hence the
title) living with her pretty damn bizarre roommate, Simon. Chance is
off on the immortal crusade for that One Special Man. It's a crusade
we're all amply familiar with, on one end or the other, and it has all
the pratfalls one might expect. Benign stalker neighbors, guys who weep
publicly and imprison girls in cars hoping to "talk like (they) used
to," dumb schmucks who talk about MOSS, that kind of thing.
We
couldn't get more existential than this. We're gonna be tackling all
the biggies on this one--life, death, sex, double standards,
telemarketing, parents getting divorced late in life, and everything in
between and beyond.
And we roll on through this gigantic pinball
machine of a movie, bouncing back and forth from topic to topic, with
seemingly little in the way of overmastering point. But actually...who
cares? This is slice-of-life at its best. Following Chance around on
her frenetic, pretty much pointless life isn't a half bad ride.
Check
out the 'pure-t' originality Chance is riding here. Check out the
opening voice over. Not one minute in and it's original. Check out the
multi-pronged conversation at the one hour mark. Check out the truly
awesome (I STILL can't believe that's the best word here but it really
really IS!) scenes on the boat around the forty five minute mark. This
is like nothing else out there. This is the kind of work that Kevin
Smith would KILL to have in his arsenal if he weren't busy pounding Jay
and Silent Bob into the collective unconscious like so many steel
railspikes.
It's not going to be for everybody. People hoping
that Benson and Marsters would ride the 'Buffy wave' on into
direct-to-video horror titles are going to be heartbroken. There will
be at least ONE total loser who's so utterly shattered by a 'non-Spike'
Marsters that he will do something stupid, illegal, or both. Possibly
ending in corpses.
Maybe Chance was the best thing for Benson,
Marsters, and their ilk. Sure, Sarah Michelle Gellar went on to destroy
Hollywood in a truly Cobra Commander fashion by having a hand in the
making of the Scooby-Doo franchise (the concept of which STILL makes me
shudder in balls-out revulsion), but Benson and Marsters are GROWING.
They've made this incredible quantum leap from a part of an
institution, being a piece of a whole, to maybe starting a whole of
their own.
Damn, that makes you think.
The ending is
actually a serious surprise, in light of the events that led up to it.
But then, from the profoundly disconnected nature of what we just
watched, ANYTHING would have been a surprise. An ending with Chance and
Simon quietly playing Scrabble would've been a surprise. It's not hard
to be surprising when you've just spent seventy-five minutes bouncing
around like a Superball in a wind tunnel.
The special features are sparse in nature--just a handful of outtakes.
All
in all, Chance is a highly original and truly interesting romantic
comedy which if viewed by itself, on its own merits, is actually pretty
pleasant. Sure, it's not the best of follow-ups if viewed in the long
run, but you don't HAVE to view it in the long run. Just watch it.
|
Some of our content may be related to gambling.    |