Friday, May 8, 2009

Movie review: Skills Like This

By John P. Meyer

You may ask yourself: if Skills Like This was completed back in 2007, why is it just now appearing in theatrical release? Additionally, you may ask yourself: would this film be worth seeing? If you're also the sort who wonders whether the old adage "crime doesn't pay" is true in all instances, then stop with the questions already and head on over to the Angelika.

By way of brief explanation, Skills Like This played at SXSW in 2007, where it took the audience award for Best Narrative Feature; since then it has run the festival circuit, and was lately picked up for distribution by an outfit called Shadow out of Maine. (MAINE? That's spooky!)

Skills, directed by newcomer Monty Miranda, stars newcomer Spencer Berger (who also wrote the script) as a playwright named Max who's seeking new career opportunities: his recently-debuted The Onion Dance stunk so badly it sent his grandfather to the emergency room with a heart attack. (O.K., so maybe that connection is a bit tenuous, but it was a disastrous opening, nonetheless.)

Max's unorthodox robbery approach

Hanging out at the neighborhood Mexican cafe the next day with friends Tommy (Brian D. Phelan) and Dave (Gabriel Tigerman), Max is understandably down at the mouth. He resolves then and there to abandon writing forever. Only problem is, he doesn't have any other skills. (Which is to say he doesn't actually have ANY skills.) Acting on a throwaway remark made by Tommy, Max proceeds across the street to rob the bank thus situated.

Meanwhile, gorgeous waitress Rosa (Marta Martin, who landed the plum role of "Medical Technician #2" in Star Trek) runs down the list of available margarita flavors for the enraptured Tommy. (Think: "MAN-go.") Dave is likewise oblivious, brooding over his ill fortune at having to wear a tie to work.

So neither of them are expecting Max to return after a few minutes with a sack full of money and a Beretta he's lifted from the holster of the hapless security guard at the bank's front entrance.

Tommy on Gloria. (Ain't she a beaut?)

Tommy, being a free spirited individual (not to mention crazy as a loon), is excited beyond all measure and immediately begs permission to play a part in Max's next heist. Dave, whose middle name could be "Anal-Retentive" (but would probably be pronounced "Wah"), is certain that the cops will be on their doorstep at any moment, and petitions Max to return the money right away. Taking on the role of token responsible person, Dave hides both the money and the gun in a secret location he deems secure. (It isn't.)

The trio decide to celebrate Max's newfound success with a night on the town; they decamp to the local watering hole where - DANG! - who should show up but the teller who handed the money to Max at gunpoint. (Sort of - Max was actually holding the gun to HIS head.)

Lucy - played by cute and fresh-faced Kerry Knuppe - threatens to call the police. Unperturbed, Max convinces her to wait until after he buys her to a drink. Whereupon he proceeds to charm the pants off her. Literally.

Following their night of bliss, Max promises Lucy that he'll remain sequestered in her apartment, out of sight of law enforcement types. Instead, after she returns to work at the bank, he wanders down to the Quickie Mart and expertly distracts the clerk while he extracts bills from the open register. (His talent for larceny is indeed a genuine one.)

"You're goin' down, clown!"

There's a backstory involving Max's family (to whom he introduces his new gal pal in Granpa's hospital room), and a kind of side-story involving Tommy's pet bicycle named Gloria (she's a beaut, and no dispute). But the main story comes to a head when Max, Tommy, Dave and Dave's girlfriend Lauren (Jennifer Batter) find themselves drunk and indecisive in the drive-through of what might easily be taken for a Jack In The Box. On a sudden whim, Max responds to the disembodied voice's request that they place their order with "give me all your money." Which he proceeds to climb through the window and take.

Unfortunately, the potential getaway car is blocked front and rear by fellow late-night noshers; Max hoofs it, leaving his buds behind to take the heat - which hangdog Dave does, ending up in jail.

Skills Like This is a charming counter-culture tale enacted by some personable and photogenic young actors - particularly Berger, who has a background as a standup comedian. The amusing action is accompanied by an engaging pop soundtrack, laced with original tunes by local Colorado bands. And the local Colorado joints frequented by the protagonists look like the kinds of places we'd enjoy visiting for a smothered burrito or a frosty brew. (Particularly if a waitress like Rosa is serving.)

Dangerously, the message of Skills seems to be that crime might, in fact, pay - though not necessarily in terms of cash. In Max's case, it delivers the sense of accomplishment that's eluded him in his role as a (really bad) writer. Not to mention the hot babe hookup.

But what of poor Dave?

UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT: "Money laundering - gotta do it!" - Tommy, re. bills drying on the clothesline

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT: "The more I do it, the better it feels." - Max, re. robbery

TATTOOUS INTERRUPTUS: "No Regr" - Dave's unfinished body art

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• Arts > Movies / Film > Independent Films