Written and Directed by: Todd Berger
Starring: David Cross, Julia Stiles, America Ferrera, Rachel Boston,
Kevin M. Brennan, Jeff Grace, Erinn Hayes, Blaise Miller
Eight friends meet for their monthly “couples brunch.” But what starts as an impromptu therapy session / airing of domestic grievances takes a sudden, catastrophic turn when the city falls victim to a mysterious attack. Trapped in the house and unsure of their fates, these seemingly normal people become increasingly unhinged to hilarious, surprising, and revealing results.
I liked “It’s a disaster”. It’s by no means a masterpiece but the film’s story, cast, and humor bring a redeeming charm to the film throughout its flaws. You see, the movie has its flaws. BIG FLAWS. The performances are inconsistent, the pacing is initially very odd and jarring, and the jokes are extremely dry. I tell myself that some of the humor relies on borderline dry wit, but the writers also sprinkled morsels of crass humor to accentuate some of the drier scenes. The effort results in a movie that truly is funny, but it’s definitely not for everyone. Watching the unraveling of this group as they attempt to survive a hopeless and life threatening situation creates an intimate environment for the actors to really exhibit their talents as the centerpiece of the film.
I went out of my way to see this movie because of David Cross, and he thankfully demonstrated exactly why I did with his performance in this film. Cross has an odd demeanor that’s occasionally self deprecating but he makes it an appreciable approach to comedy that just tickles me in ways that few other comedians can match. I enjoyed Cross’ character “Glenn Randolph” a lot in this film thanks to Cross’s sustained comical timing supplementing the highlight performances of some of his co-stars.
DC’s role in this film wasn’t as focal as I anticipated which was a grab bag of pleasant surprises and thundering disappointment. I wasn’t too keen on everything else in the movie and for whatever reason dread during the change of an scene in fear that Julia Styles’ “Tracy Scott” would have another awkward attempted romantic interaction with David’s character Glenn and I could swear David and Julia did too. The scenes with them in an isolated romantic like scene stand out and not for the right reasons. None of the attempted comedy in the scenes in which the humor is entirely situational rather than punch driven was a struggle for Styles. Oh, and America Farrera also delivers a wonderfully entertaining performance with her depressive Hedy Galili. She steals more than one scene in this movie and helps carry the comedy to the finish line along with David Cross. I was pleasantly surprised by her comfort with her character to really unhinge when faced with fear. She was incredibly humorous and pivotal to a lot of the enjoyment in this film.
Overall the film kept me further entertained than I initially expected and in hindsight I feel like that a film that I’d like to to show off to friends. I’m avoiding discussion about the story itself because it would ruin a lot of the charm found in watching the story unfold. This movie grew on me as the story progressed resulting in enhanced immersion, and a few genuine outbursts of laughter. There’s a slight sense of moral introspect studied in the film that helps carry the story along as well that balances the comedy all the way through and compliments the entertaining story that’s told.
Overall, I give “It’s A Disaster” a 6.5 out of 10
