GOOD DICK

One of my favorite events that I attended was Struck and Good Dick at Thalian theater. The first film was the short film, Struck.  It was a very visually entertaining short with a creative concept. The main character was standing on the street when he noticed a pretty girl walking on the opposite side of the street. Suddenly he was struck by an arrow in the middle of his chest. The arrow stuck with him as he was set up on one hilarious date after another. No matter how many dates he went on, the arrow still stayed stuck in the middle of his chest; often making simple tasks and innocent situations humorous. At the end of the story he runs into the girl who caused him to be struck by Cupid's arrow at a laundry mat where she proceeds to remove the arrow from his chest. This film was very visually and narratively entertaining. The composition in every shot was well thought out, and the cinematography was superb. The lonely mood of the main character was enhanced by the solemn blue lighting and the main character's lack of dialogue. The visual story was very impressive, and did not need the normal amount of dialogue found in normal narratives; it stood alone by itself. One very noticeable and well used visual techniques was the soft focus that was present in the shots of the main characters love interest. Although there was not an excessive amount of dialogue, the dialogue that was used was very entertaining, and it was a good source of characterization; often emphasizing the stereotypical people you may find during blind dates. It was also full of noticeable actors, but the most humorous of all was the appearance of Ethan Suplee as Cupid. When Suplee was revealed as Cupid the theater erupted with laughter and applause. Although it was the short film played before the feature, Good Dick, in my opinion, it was the more entertaining of the two films. 

The main feature film was Good Dick. I had seen previews for this movie in Apple's movie trailers application and it grabbed my attention. It was about a relationship between two lonely people, one boy one girl. The main male character works at a movie rental store, and the female character consistently comes into his store to rent porn movies. The male tries to establish a relationship with her, and through the he gains her trust and develops a very one sided love for her. It is obvious that he cares very much for her, but there is something that has disturbed that girl and caused her to be very suspicious and unable to trust him. At the end of the movie they eventually attempt sexual intimacy, but she is spooked by his erection and demands that he leaves. We follow the main female character to her father's office where their conversation alludes to the fact that he sexually molested her.

The aspect of this film that I enjoyed the most was the acting. Although my friends who I saw the movie with may disagree, I thought the acting, along with the cinematography, made the movie. The characters' relationship was the main focus of the story, and their performances were very impressive. They both made it very clear that they had psychological issues. The female was very skeptical, cold, and always had her guard up. The male was a former drug addict, living in his car, and yearning for company. No matter how much progress you thought that they made in their friendship, she always was there to keep it in check and deny her true feelings. Her best performance in the film is at the end during their attempt at intimacy when she gets spooked, balls, and demands that he leaves. Her emotions were very convincing, powerful, unfamiliar, and disturbing. Not only was the acting very good in the film, the cinematography was also superb. Interesting shot compositions were in every shot, and the art of the camera was very noticeable compared to most other films. These two features were the most noticeable and my favorite aspects of the film.