Hit or Miss: Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer

Title: Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer
Director: Andrew Jones
Hit or Miss: Miss

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2010/11/28/dancoolo/

When initially presented with this short, I wanted to think"Frank DanCoolo" is just a short not for everyone. After finishing it, I kind of found myself more under the idea that "Frank DanCoolo" is just a short not really for anyone.

I take that back, a little bit, maybe. While I can definitely appreciate the filmmaker's bravery in creating a short with visual effects and style "outside the box" I still felt a bit irritated with the film. Now don't get me wrong, I can definitely get into Japanese movies, I'll even appreciate some grindhouse b movies with all the cheesiness glued on, and still appreciate it. I'm also a sucker for film noir type characters, so Holly Malone's character thrown into the futuristic Japanese world seemed like it could definitely be a fun, crazy, eccentric and original ride. Still, no matter how much I wanted to like it, the problem here is a simple but large one: Pretentiousness. And unfortunately, style over substance does not triumph in this situation.

While the effects were pretty decent overall, considering they probably intentionally wanted them to to fit in with the cheesy style of the movie, it just felt too forced and too much. It almost felt as if every little over the top effect was pushed and crammed in. This is a bit overwhelming and annoying.

While Holly was definitely an "interesting" character, and while I would venture to say I prefer characters with a "weird" or "different" feel to them, I still want the character to be somewhat likeable. Instead, she just wound up getting on my nerves. While she maintained a good "voice", style and mannerisms suitable for her character, a giddy reporter from 1940's era, she just seemed a bit too abrasive and for lack of a better word, annoying.

I will say that the plot was pretty original while it borrowed from and paid homage to classic elements found in Japanese kung fu, grindhouse, and film noir. It was, overall, original, and that is something positive that I can respect.

Overall though, the film just felt like "too much". Forced and pretentious. I feel like the filmmaker tried to "push the envelope" for the sake of pushing the envelope. To try to be "weird" for the sake of being weird in hopes of being seen as original and pushing the boundaries. In reality, it just comes off as he bit off a bit more than he could chew by forcing too much and coming off as trying to be weird where it really doesn't need to be that strange.

Overall, it's a miss for me, but I do respect the attempt and the throwbacks to the other film genres that inspired this short.