Friday, April 4, 1997
FILM:
Australian work fails to show hip, fresh side of Generation X
lifeBy Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Contributor
The world probably doesn’t need another Generation X movie about
the lives of quirky college students and their even quirkier little
problems.
But if filmmakers really want to make a formulaic movie that
attempts to manipulate the younger generation, they should at least
bother to come up with a plot. A perfect example is the Australian
college comedy "Love and Other Catastrophes."
There is nothing new about it. "Love and Other Catastrophes" is
a film about a day in the life of five college students. Its only
point of interest is that it marks the debut of Emma-Kate Croghan,
a first-time director who made this shoestring budget film with
four other filmmaker friends.
Despite the general interest in Croghan’s work, the movie has
little excitement to offer. The story centers on Mia (Frances
O’Conner), a cheery lesbian who is determined to switch majors
before the deadline, but is having problems due to a $500 library
fine. She is also having a lover’s spat with her girlfriend Dani
(Radha Mitchell), who has been invited to go away for the weekend
with another girl. Uh-oh.
Mia’s platonic roommate, Alice, has her own problems to deal
with. She is in love with Ari, the campus gigolo. A moody James
Dean wanna-be, he records his "deep thoughts" and confusing
philosophies with a mini-tape recorder. Her infatuation with this
pretentious fool keeps her from meeting her true love, a sweet
medical student who happens to love the same three movies she
adores.
While the film is amusing during those scenes, which pay homage
to the classic screwball comedy, there is one hugely distracting
problem. The movie’s most blatant flaw is the absence of any plot.
The characters are underdeveloped and poorly characterized and,
since the audience hardly knows anything about these people, it is
hard to maintain interest in what is happening in their lives.
"Love" tries hard to capture the fresh, hip appeal of past indie
hits about today’s youth like "Clerks," a film that director
Croghan admitted inspired her.
But while "Clerks" succeeded with its witty writing and plot
lines about the inanities of real life, "Love" comes off as just
another copycat, with no genuine or original material to keep it
interesting.
Grade: C