Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sundance – Day 1 (Saturday, January 17, 2009)

Much like the last trip I took, the day started out with a few hiccups. I had been leisurely packing and getting ready when I decided to look at my flight itinerary. I was surprised to realize my flight left 30 minutes earlier than I thought it did so then I had to hurry to make it to the airport on time. I got to the airport fine, parked in my usual lot and then proceeded to get frustrated as the shuttle driver took a wrong turn and then informed me that he couldn’t actually let me off in the terminal that I was leaving from and he had to drop me 2 terminals away! I started to get anxious that I might actually miss the flight. Fortunately, I got to the gate as they were boarding … a little sweaty, a little flustered but I got on the plane.

I am travelling with my friends, Lisa and Ron, and they were on the same flight. We got to Salt Lake City, picked up our bags and rental cars and then were on our way towards Park City with the hopes of finding something to eat along the way because Lisa and I were starving. As I was driving I thought to myself, “I know it’s been a few years since I was here but none of this looks familiar.” Well, no wonder. I was on the wrong freeway! I got back on track and met Ron and Lisa at Olive Garden for a lunch of portabello mushroom ravioli and salad.

We are staying in a condo in Park City right at the edge of Park Avenue and not far from one of the Sundance shuttle stops. The condo is nice enough but the bathroom is TINY! You can barely move in there so it will be interesting to see how 3 people get ready on time with that minute space.

We took the shuttle down to Main Street so we could pick up the individual tickets we purchased and our catalogs. We walked around Main Street and Park Avenue a little bit and had our first celebrity sighting: Dominic Monaghan who plays Charlie Pace on the television show “Lost”. He’s definitely shorter than I thought he was.

The shuttle was so crowded and hot that we actually decided to walk back to the condo and it was nice to get some fresh air. It’s actually not very cold (about 40°) and, based on the forecast that Lisa saw, it seems like that is what it will be like all week. If so, I definitely won’t get too cold!

Lisa and Ron bought tickets for the movie “Tyson” so they have ventured out for their first Sundance movie experience. I am sitting in the condo frustrated that there is no WiFi. How can you have a rental property these days and not have internet access of any kind?!?! It will definitely be one of the complaints I make about the condo when we leave.

Not much more to report as of now … stay tuned for more movie news and hopefully more celebrity sightings.

Mystery Team

Run time: 105 minutes
Director: Dan Eckman
Screenwriters: Dominic Dierkes, Donald Glover, DC Pierson
Cast: Donald Glover, DC Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, Aubrey Plaza, Bobby Moynihan, Matt Walsh
Theater: Library Center Theater

Synopsis and review (by Trevor Groth in the Sundance Film Guide):

If Encyclopedia Brown, the kids from American Pie, and Nancy Drew all had sex, their baby would probably look something like Mystery Team, a wonderful blend of innocent and seedy humor from the Derrick Comedy group. Already an Internet phenomenon, they transition gloriously into the realm of feature films.

When they were kids, the Mystery Team solved pint-sized mysteries like “Who stuck his finger in the pie?” Now it’s senior year of high school, and they are still solving mysteries the same way. Though each member of the team has a supposed specialty – Jason is the Master of Disguise; Charlie is the Strongest Kid in Town; and Duncan is the Boy Genius – they are really just stunted and naive kids. When a little girl asks them to find out who killed her parents, Jason realizes they have an opportunity to prove to the town, and themselves, that they are real detectives.

A dark comedy that hits on classic mystery conventions, Mystery Team cleverly places the naive innocence of yesteryear within the jaded, crime-laden world of today. What makes the ludicrous premise work so magnificently is the impeccable chemistry among the three leads. This is a film for anyone who is nostalgic for a time when solving a mystery was the greatest feeling in the world, but adult enough to like a little raunchy humor.

Thoughts and observations:

We saw the premiere of this movie at 11:30 p.m. on our first night of the Festival. The movie was hysterically funny. The young actor of the film has some raunchy and filthy dialogue that was shocking and funny at the same time. The director and cast were there and the Q&A was enjoyable. I was surprised at how young they looked. Apparently, the cast and Eckman are part of a comedy group, Derrick, whose shorts have been viewed online over 100 million times.

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