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Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: 09.25.2018
Director: Christian Papierniak
Cast: Mackenzie Davis, Carrie Coon, Annie Potts
Year: 2017
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Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town - Movie Review:
Lead character Izzy (Mackenzie Davis) is a fresh-out-of-work singer in Los Angeles and, upon the film's open, is very hungover and in a stranger's bed. After a quaint and intimate opening scene (thanks to the very brief appearance of Lakeith Stanfield) she soon discovers that the ex she's carrying a serious torch over is having his engagement party that evening, to her best friend, across town. So, as the title suggests, she has to get move on to get there and stop it.
It's a rom-com-ish premise, altered a bit by Izzy's never-say-die, punk-rock attitude. This propels the activity of the film forward as Izzy keeps trying to get across town with no money and no transportation (at first). She's thus forced into a series of vignette-like scenes with many different characters of various levels of acquaintance.
While that keeps things fresh it also manages to reveal as much about Izzy as it does each of these characters. However, since the basis of her interactions with all these characters is purely transactional, Izzy's self-centeredness and selfishness take center stage, ultimately revealing her as a pretty unlikable character. Her selfishness is challenged, thwarted, ignored or even justified (in the film's language) by a host of characters that each seem to be pretty much worse than the previous person.
Since Izzy's goal is to break up a wedding engagement between her lost love and her best friend, based solely on the flimsiest of pretexts (even referred to as such in the film), her actions then are delirious at best, and downright repugnant at worst. Izzy never truly rises to the level the filmmakers assume she is at, being “her own person†and thus cleared of any wrongdoing at any point in the film. Even a couple truly touching scenes - one with Annie Potts, the other a fantastic duet with Carrie Coon - are immediately stripped of their sentimentality by Izzy's actions that follow those scenes. She just refuses, it seems, to incorporate or learn anything along this journey which only serves to undercut and cheapen her great personal revelation at the film's end.
Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town - Blu-Ray Review:
The presentation here is full 1080p which seems like a bit of overkill, given the more "indie" style it's going for visually. Where the presentation really shines is in the audio department. The film gets a solid soundtrack boost thanks to both an English DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 variety on the audio options. The riot grrl-heavy soundtrack gets a really nice punch out of the 5.1 option here. English subtitles are also available for the film.
The director commentary w/ Christian Papierniak and his DofP Alexandre Naufel is the other audio option. They tried to strike a balance between technical and anecdotal and mostly managed that although Papierniak has to cue Naufel to speak up very often. There is a LOT of info/praise for star Davis, at first detailing her coming on board and becoming co-producer and then during her performance throughout the film since she does all the heavy lifting in it. It's interesting for Indie Filmmaking 101 as it's fairly straightforward - although it's also pretty dismissive of any criticisms and self-satisfied. The duo are pretty upbeat, talking a lot about the female presence all over the film (producers, actors, soundtrack) yet somehow never touching on how spectacularly the film fails the Bechdel test. They are also effusive in their praise for every single actor on screen as well, in every single scene, every single time. It's a bit exhausting, honestly.
Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town - The Final Word:
While it's a solid vehicle for Mackenzie Davis to show off her acting range Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town never truly feels like it reaches its destination, choosing instead to enjoy the side trips along the way. Solid supporting performances and a great alternative soundtrack aside, the film misses its mark by never fully exploring its lead character, following her reactions and then (surprise!) giving her some actionable insight at the end. This makes the character very self-centered and tough to root for - and that's a failure when considering how badly the film wants you to cheer her on and see her struggle as some kind of triumph.
Click on the images below for full sized Izzy Gets The Fuck Across Town Blu-ray screen caps!
