This movie had a far more interesting trailer than the movie proved to be. The file is just about 2 hours long, and the first 1 hour 40 of that is painful to watch. While the cinema work is pretty good, the acting is TERRIBLE. However, the ending scene, (about 12 - 15 minutes of the end of the movie) delivered a surprisingly spectacular performance. It's almost as if the entire rehearsal was focused on this scene alone, and the rest was podged together. These two leading role actresses suddenly surprise with an extremely well crafted performance. The down side is, it's too little too late. The editors should have taken a heavier hand to the scissor and cut a good 20 to 40 minutes of monotonous non-story advancement, non- character development. In the end I give it a 5, though if I could split the film score, then first hour and 40 minutes gets a 2, the final scene gets a 9.
8 Reviews
Audrey, Lillian, and Young Fiona Flop on the Stage!
lavatch13 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Audrey Green and Lillian Wallace are two struggling performers, who have to fall back on acting in skits for corporations in dramatic presentations of human interactions related to sensitivity. The main problem with the film was that the both the skits and the actors performing them were not credible.
The motto for Audrey and Lillian is "everything we do is special." Unfortunately, the special nature of their partnership does not translate into high-caliber work. Lillian is the principal writer of the team, but it is clear that her scripts are dreadful. There were places in the film that were so bad that it was difficult to distinguish the spoken dialogue in the relationship of Audrey and Lillian as roommates from the scripted material coming from the pen of Lillian.
It was problematic that large corporations would even require the services of Audrey and Lillian. An HR department would simply draw upon its own personnel for skits of this nature, and the results would not have been any worse than the efforts of Audrey and Lillian.
Another downside of the film was the pacing with long, repetitive scenes and inconsequential subplots. The story of Piper the cat had no bearing on the film other than to make Audrey and Lillian appear as negligent pet owners when their cat jumped out the window of their high-rise apartment The personal trauma of Audrey, who suffers from depression, yet fails to take her meds, bogged down the film even more.
The brief romantic liaison between Audrey and Bradley, who quits his job to take care of Audrey, was another loose plot strand that stretched credibility to the breaking point. After they spend a night together, Audrey apparently dumps him with no explanation given! Another superfluous scene was when Audrey bursts in to the office of her agent, Pater Fielding, and "fires" him. Based on her abysmal track record in auditions, it was Fielding who should have removed Audrey from his client base. Audrey's failure as an actress cannot be blamed on her agent.
The film comes to a climax with the cliché scene of Audrey, Lillian, and young Fiona putting on a show for an audience of 300 employees of a corporation. The title of their playlet is "Leadership in Crisis and Times of Change." But the dialogue between Audrey and Lillian bore no resemblance to a real crisis in the workplace dealing with an employee's alcoholism. Instead, the self-indulgent skit was all about the personal relationship of Audrey and Lillian!
There were two conditions in which Audrey and Lillian were given the job of putting on their play: (1) there was to be no shattered glass during the performance, which would be a hazard in the workplace and (2) the ending could not be bleak. It turned out that Audrey shattered the class, and the lugubrious ending would have served the purposes of a grade-B horror film. If Audrey and Lillian are not paid for their efforts, one could only exclaim: Brava! The shabby careers of two talent-less women are given a showcase that i turns into a requiem at the end of this pretentious film.
The motto for Audrey and Lillian is "everything we do is special." Unfortunately, the special nature of their partnership does not translate into high-caliber work. Lillian is the principal writer of the team, but it is clear that her scripts are dreadful. There were places in the film that were so bad that it was difficult to distinguish the spoken dialogue in the relationship of Audrey and Lillian as roommates from the scripted material coming from the pen of Lillian.
It was problematic that large corporations would even require the services of Audrey and Lillian. An HR department would simply draw upon its own personnel for skits of this nature, and the results would not have been any worse than the efforts of Audrey and Lillian.
Another downside of the film was the pacing with long, repetitive scenes and inconsequential subplots. The story of Piper the cat had no bearing on the film other than to make Audrey and Lillian appear as negligent pet owners when their cat jumped out the window of their high-rise apartment The personal trauma of Audrey, who suffers from depression, yet fails to take her meds, bogged down the film even more.
The brief romantic liaison between Audrey and Bradley, who quits his job to take care of Audrey, was another loose plot strand that stretched credibility to the breaking point. After they spend a night together, Audrey apparently dumps him with no explanation given! Another superfluous scene was when Audrey bursts in to the office of her agent, Pater Fielding, and "fires" him. Based on her abysmal track record in auditions, it was Fielding who should have removed Audrey from his client base. Audrey's failure as an actress cannot be blamed on her agent.
The film comes to a climax with the cliché scene of Audrey, Lillian, and young Fiona putting on a show for an audience of 300 employees of a corporation. The title of their playlet is "Leadership in Crisis and Times of Change." But the dialogue between Audrey and Lillian bore no resemblance to a real crisis in the workplace dealing with an employee's alcoholism. Instead, the self-indulgent skit was all about the personal relationship of Audrey and Lillian!
There were two conditions in which Audrey and Lillian were given the job of putting on their play: (1) there was to be no shattered glass during the performance, which would be a hazard in the workplace and (2) the ending could not be bleak. It turned out that Audrey shattered the class, and the lugubrious ending would have served the purposes of a grade-B horror film. If Audrey and Lillian are not paid for their efforts, one could only exclaim: Brava! The shabby careers of two talent-less women are given a showcase that i turns into a requiem at the end of this pretentious film.
What a waste of 2 hours
lutefan22 May 2018
Such a disappointment. Unappealing characters, no development, stilted dialogue, awful direction and needed far more aggressive editing. Long panning shots of tall buildings; how fascinating! Ending completely predictable and boring. I'm sure the 2 leads will have long successful careers as tertiary quirky characters in straight to streaming films.
If you like Wes Anderson or Rushmore
paulkobos198029 June 2018
I literally am shocked at the reviews and rating. All I want to say is if you like movies with offbeat or irreverent, inttelligent humor like Rushmore or Wes Anderson's movies you will like if not love dtfl. Only thing that struck me as odd was the elevator music soundtrack.
Excellent! The ending will tear your heart out
nadiagibbons15 November 2017
This is a an excellent film! The complex relationship between Audrey (Claire Armstrong) and Lillian (Naomi Skwarna) is both poignant and hilarious. There are also some incredible scenes between Gary (Todd Graham) and Audrey and Lillian. The ending will tear your heart out. If you are able to see this - I can't recommend it enough. I really hope it comes to Netflix and iTunes!
A true Canadian gem!
asaundersm16 November 2017
Rally love this film. A true Canadian gem that is under-appreciated. The director has a bright future in front of him and writes true-to-life female characters, something that is truly lacking in cinema today. This deserves to be seen on screens across Canada and the US and ultimately on Netflix. Can't wait to see it again!
Bring DTF to Netflix!
alexgrunwald-2591718 April 2017
I was lucky enough to be at the DTF premiere. It was hilarious and completely unpredictable! The two main characters reminded me of people I could have gone to art school with. Their struggles as professional artists are universal. When's it coming back to Toronto? Better yet, when's it coming to Netflix? Looking forward to seeing it again soon.
I loved this.
chaboldayh15 August 2018
I just watched the movie and it was just so awesome. I can't believe I've never heard of it before. I found out totally by chance and the first seconds of the trailer were enough to decide me to watch the whole thing.
This movie just brings so many feelings. It's funny, it's sad. I'f you've ever been involved in the art world, it will feel so real, too. I felt that it explored many interesting questions alongside the story it tells us: what is art, how do we value it, how can we do it in this world. What is real, and raw, and what isn't. It raised all of them for me at least.
The story is not predictable, nor are the characters. The acting is great. It will take you to unexpected places. The direction is also very interesting. I can't thing of one thing I didn't like in this movie. Everything worked, everything brings something.
If you haven't watched it yet, go for it. You'll just leave the movie with something more. Definitely worth two hours of your time.
This movie just brings so many feelings. It's funny, it's sad. I'f you've ever been involved in the art world, it will feel so real, too. I felt that it explored many interesting questions alongside the story it tells us: what is art, how do we value it, how can we do it in this world. What is real, and raw, and what isn't. It raised all of them for me at least.
The story is not predictable, nor are the characters. The acting is great. It will take you to unexpected places. The direction is also very interesting. I can't thing of one thing I didn't like in this movie. Everything worked, everything brings something.
If you haven't watched it yet, go for it. You'll just leave the movie with something more. Definitely worth two hours of your time.
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