Because I only had a pass for The Grand on the weekends my weekdays at Sundance are made up of my 10 pack of tickets that I purchased. This means I am seeing 2 movies on most of the days including today. I was at the Rose Wagner Theater tonight and saw 2 comedies with vastly different reactions to each: one I did not enjoy and the other I loved! So here goes

Kajillionaire

Tonight’s first film Kajillioniare has a lot going for it. It has a likable and talented cast including Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, Evan Rachel Wood and Gina Rodriguez. It also has a few jokes that land and a dry sense of humor that can work ala Napoleon Dynamite.

Unfortunately Kajillionaire is like every irritating Sundance film that tries to be ND or Little Miss Sunshine and fails miserably. This movie was a chore to get through. My biggest problem is there just aren’t enough funny jokes or set pieces and the couple they have are repeated to the point of irritation. For example, they have a joke about how the Bubbles Factory leaks into the office space they are living in, which at first is amusing but they go to it a half a dozen times and it stopped being funny.

The movie really struggles to control tone and all the characters vacillate between charmingly naive to mean-spirited and cold. To use Napoleon Dynamite as an example again: We like the film because we like Napoleon and when he sticks up for his friend at the end it’s a moment of victory we can get behind. This is just an insufferable, obnoxious, indie slog. I was bored and anxious for it to finish and it seemed like it never would (the ending is very cringey as well). It was not for me

2 out of 10

Frown Worthy

Save Yourselves

Next we have a totally different experience with the supernatural comedy Save Yourselves. I have been waiting for a movie at the festival I unabashedly love and have found it here. Save Yourselves is absolutely hilarious. It’s not only a very funny look at modern millennial life but a sweet romance of a couple who become stronger through facing off with aliens.

This film stars Sunita Mani and John Reynolds (both who were new to me) as a couple who are addicted to their cell phones and other devices and have a fulfilling yet bland modern existence where Alexa is a 3rd member of their relationship. LOL. Both actors have a wonderful chemistry together, and I really bought them as a committed loving couple, and if you know me you know I love a good romance.

One weekend they decide to abandon their cell phones and go to a friend’s house in the mountains for an off the grid break. Unfortunately unbeknownst to them there is also an alien invasion that weekend that overtakes the country. Eventually they are faced with the aliens and realize they are completely unprepared for a survivalist life.

I laughed at nearly every joke here. As someone who spends way too much time on my phone and is not very rugged or outdoorsy it almost all rang true.  For example, I loved their discussion about whether to use the gun at the house or Su’s struggles to drive stick shift (mostly backwards). So funny.

If there are flaws the ending feels a little out of place and strange but the movie had won me over by that point. I’d love to see more of these 2 actors and the 2 director/writers Eleanor Wilson and Alex H. Fischer. Look out for Save Yourselves.

It is possible my delight in Save Yourselves was helped by the fact I disliked Kajillionaire so much just before it. but I can’t wait to see it again. It’s a winner and definitely my favorite of the festival so far.

8.5 out of 10

Smile Worthy