This film is the indy cinema version of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It manages to hit that sweet spot between charm and quirk, drawing you in and making you feel something for these characters, only to throw it all away with a startlingly wrong and unnecessary bit of too clever by 3/4ths fatuousness. I don't know if these filmmakers fell in love with their self-perceived brilliance of it they realized they didn't have an ending and tried to substitute some narrative prestidigitation. I'm Reed Fish is like someone who's about to win a marathon but stops 200 yards from the finish line and shoots himself in both feet. You're cheering him on and then all of a sudden
what the f**k?!?
Reed Fish (Jay Baruchel) is a young man who finds himself the heart and soul of the indefinable community of Mud Meadows after his father dies. He's taken over his dad's job as the main attraction of the local radio and TV stations and serves as sort of a town ombudsmen and conscience, though it's clear early on that he feels more than a little trapped by his supposedly idyllic existence. Reed is engaged to Kate (Alexis Bledel), a girl he grew up with, only to have everything turn upside down when Jill (Schuyler Fisk), another girl her grew up with, blows back town for the summer. There's a lot of local color from Mud Meadow's adorable oddballs, but this is really the story of how Reed is caught between two women and two versions of his life and handles it in the most ass way possible.
All that stuff I just described is pretty fun and enjoyable. I found myself smiling along with most of what happened. The following was neither fun nor enjoyable and I found myself staring at it in increasing aggravation and abhorrence. About 15 to 20 minutes into the film, the camera pulls back and we see that what we've been watching is an autobiographical movie made by Reed Fish and starring all the people of Mud Meadows. Then we go back into the movie-within-the-movie and when that ends, we return to the "real" world to one of the most undeserved and inexplicable standing ovations in cinema history and see the fallout to Reed Fish of the events portrayed in his film, which he starred in as himself.
Firstly, the initial step back to reveal the movie-within-the-movie business is an atrocious misstep that takes a jackhammer and pounds into your brain how contrived everything is that your watching. It makes you question what the hell I'm Reed Fish is and where it's going, which could have served as a jumping off point to something more challenging, but then in plunges right back into the movie-within-the-movie for another 50 minutes or so. It wasn't until the end, when they stepped back out into the "real" world of Reed Fish and Mud Meadows, that I realized that first digression was only there because these filmmakers were worried the audience isn't as smart as they are. They thought if they waited until the very end to pull back and show these people watching the film of themselves, people wouldn't get it and they'd have to work to hard at explaining and justifying it. Or maybe they thought viewers just wouldn't like that kind of a switcheroo being pulled on them. Whatever the reason, the first time someone suggested breaking in early with the movie-within-a-movie concept to prepare the audience for what happens at the end, it should have been a big warning signal that there was a basic flaw in their approach.
That flaw is this tale is about how Reed Fish finally grows up and takes control of his life instead of just coasting along, doing what he assumes other people want. Except, that transformation never truly occurs. The movie-within-a-movie gets up to that point and then it ends. We then pull back to "reality" where it's a year later or so and Reed has basically completed his transformation, the audience just never gets to see any of it. If you somehow manage to maintain a connection to this film after it metaphorically slaps you in the face, you'll feel like a frustrated sucker when there's no payoff to all of the build up you've sat through.
It also doesn't help that these filmmakers screw with you by having Reed Fish cast a woman who looks like the "real" Jill to play the "movie" Kate and vice versa. There's no point to it at all except to smack the viewer one more time with the movie-within-a-movie crap.
Alexis Bledel is nice in anything and there are some honestly affecting moments in I'm Reed Fish. This might have been a great film if these filmmakers hadn't thought they were too smart and talented to make it. By genuflecting before their own supposed genius, they've made a movie where the more you like it, the more you'll be frustrated by it. Watch this at your own risk.
Reed Fish (Jay Baruchel) is a young man who finds himself the heart and soul of the indefinable community of Mud Meadows after his father dies. He's taken over his dad's job as the main attraction of the local radio and TV stations and serves as sort of a town ombudsmen and conscience, though it's clear early on that he feels more than a little trapped by his supposedly idyllic existence. Reed is engaged to Kate (Alexis Bledel), a girl he grew up with, only to have everything turn upside down when Jill (Schuyler Fisk), another girl her grew up with, blows back town for the summer. There's a lot of local color from Mud Meadow's adorable oddballs, but this is really the story of how Reed is caught between two women and two versions of his life and handles it in the most ass way possible.
All that stuff I just described is pretty fun and enjoyable. I found myself smiling along with most of what happened. The following was neither fun nor enjoyable and I found myself staring at it in increasing aggravation and abhorrence. About 15 to 20 minutes into the film, the camera pulls back and we see that what we've been watching is an autobiographical movie made by Reed Fish and starring all the people of Mud Meadows. Then we go back into the movie-within-the-movie and when that ends, we return to the "real" world to one of the most undeserved and inexplicable standing ovations in cinema history and see the fallout to Reed Fish of the events portrayed in his film, which he starred in as himself.
Firstly, the initial step back to reveal the movie-within-the-movie business is an atrocious misstep that takes a jackhammer and pounds into your brain how contrived everything is that your watching. It makes you question what the hell I'm Reed Fish is and where it's going, which could have served as a jumping off point to something more challenging, but then in plunges right back into the movie-within-the-movie for another 50 minutes or so. It wasn't until the end, when they stepped back out into the "real" world of Reed Fish and Mud Meadows, that I realized that first digression was only there because these filmmakers were worried the audience isn't as smart as they are. They thought if they waited until the very end to pull back and show these people watching the film of themselves, people wouldn't get it and they'd have to work to hard at explaining and justifying it. Or maybe they thought viewers just wouldn't like that kind of a switcheroo being pulled on them. Whatever the reason, the first time someone suggested breaking in early with the movie-within-a-movie concept to prepare the audience for what happens at the end, it should have been a big warning signal that there was a basic flaw in their approach.
That flaw is this tale is about how Reed Fish finally grows up and takes control of his life instead of just coasting along, doing what he assumes other people want. Except, that transformation never truly occurs. The movie-within-a-movie gets up to that point and then it ends. We then pull back to "reality" where it's a year later or so and Reed has basically completed his transformation, the audience just never gets to see any of it. If you somehow manage to maintain a connection to this film after it metaphorically slaps you in the face, you'll feel like a frustrated sucker when there's no payoff to all of the build up you've sat through.
It also doesn't help that these filmmakers screw with you by having Reed Fish cast a woman who looks like the "real" Jill to play the "movie" Kate and vice versa. There's no point to it at all except to smack the viewer one more time with the movie-within-a-movie crap.
Alexis Bledel is nice in anything and there are some honestly affecting moments in I'm Reed Fish. This might have been a great film if these filmmakers hadn't thought they were too smart and talented to make it. By genuflecting before their own supposed genius, they've made a movie where the more you like it, the more you'll be frustrated by it. Watch this at your own risk.