BY MIKEY MIGO
I saw the entire buzz about this New Zealand indie flick when it came out and it got me curious. It's not because a production company is shoving millions of dollars worth of advertising down our throats or because a house hold name actor is doing the talk show circuit. Normally when an indie movie gets buzz it's because it deserves it and is a well made movie. I finally got around to watching this movie and I can see why it gets the praise it does. The unknown cast (at least to me) worked brilliantly together and had great chemistry. The script was often compared to a hybrid of Napoleon Dynamite meets a quirky romantic comedy, but there's a lot more to it than that. Just because it features eccentric nerdy characters it automatically gets the ND comparison, which is a bit unfair. There were plenty of these movies before the great Napoleon came out and will be more in the future. The plot is simple. Girl likes boy. They hook up. Boy has issues. She still wants boy. They reconcile in the end. It's nothing revolutionary and I don't think that's what they were trying for. What they accomplished is a beautifully done movie on a obvious low budget. That's something I can relate to (at least the low budget part) and appreciate. If you're open minded to REAL independent movies (not the ones with big stars "slumming it" for indie cred) then this is for you. If I have to give it a star rating, I'm going to go with a solid 3 out of 5.
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