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| DIRECTED BY |
| Doug Block
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| STARRING |
| Gerry Cook |
| Jennifer Fox |
| Ted Lichtenfeld |
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This is perhaps the most depressingly discouraging documentary that any aspiring filmmaker could ever watch, but it will nonetheless give them insight into just how mercilessly bleak filmmaking and the experiences that come afterward can be. We�re introduced to three filmmakers � only one of whom ever made another film after their first effort here � Jennifer Fox, who went on to direct a Made-for-TV movie.
What makes this documentary so depressing is that these people actually devoted their lives to making their film and only one of them really got anywhere with it in the long run (although even that was a disappointment.) Ted Lichtenfeld is the fellow who put himself ~$50,000 in debt by writing and directing �Personal Foul,� a small-town drama that supposedly has its merits but it could just never find an audience, thus it never premiered theatrically outside of his hometown. Perhaps he did indeed have thick skin, but the poor guy never went on to make another film again (whatever happened to that action adventure?) And Ted - yes, the Coen Bros. may have gotten distribution after making 'Blood Simple,' but your film is absolutely nothing like theirs.
It�s quite interesting to watch Jennifer Fox�s efforts to get the whole nation (the good ol� U.S. of A) into appreciating a documentary film that she made about occurrences in Beirut. We automatically know that the best case scenario for this film would be for it to get appreciated by festivals and small art-house theatres. She was just a little too ambitious though � trying to turn a film that should�ve simply served as her stepping stone to a box office success into a box office success.
Certainly the most memorable of the bunch would be Gerry Cook�s �laugh-a-minute� comedy �Only a Buck� � this documentary would�ve definitely been a lot more entertaining if it had focused solely on this film. Cook actually managed to make not only a joke of a movie but also a joke of everything that he and his filmmaking comrades did in relation to it � attempting to distribute it themselves cross-country in an elaborately-designed Winnebago. It�s hard not to be charmed by the sheer enthusiasm that these guys maintained even through their constant disappointments.
