The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best defies expectations

The world has changed a lot over the past five years.  International economic woes can be felt everywhere and it’s easy to see how the landscape of our future has been distorted.  With less investment and fewer companies willing to take a chance on unproven commodities, big dreams now seem even more unlikely.  How, then, does a society respond to such an outlook?  One way is to alter its perspective.  Ryan O’Nan’s directorial debut The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best illustrates just such a concept taking hold.  On the surface, it’s an enjoyable indie road trip flick, but the moral of the story is reflective of the road western society is currently on.

In centring the film on a character attempting to break into the music industry, O’Nan has obviously played to his own strengths.  On top of writing the story, O’Nan also wrote many of the songs he performs as Alex in The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best.  However, the music business is a perfect example of the toll economic struggles (and, of course, the internet) have taken on once thriving, vital industries.  With fewer record labels, a shrinking market for albums and music retailers, the career that Alex dreams of has never been more of a long shot.  Saddled with a job he hates and recently dumped by the woman he loves, Alex doesn’t have a lot going for him.  Yet, he’s not cut of the stereotypical slacker cloth.  He clearly has both talent and ambition, but said ambition isn’t to just slog through a white-collar existence.  Sure, Alex may perform for mentally disabled young adults in a pink moose outfit and his shotgun-collaboration with Jim (Michael Weston via Charlie Day) is fairly far-fetched, but the offbeat nuisances of The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best sit well alongside a message that says this- right here, right now- is it.

Review: Red State

In Red State, Kevin Smith’s anticipated departure from comedy, the writer/director accomplishes an odd feat of producing a film which excels in the final third after an essentially pointless first hour.  As such, it may be difficult to discuss the film without giving away where Smith’s story actually goes, so reader be warned.  With religious extremists and the US government in his cross-heirs, Red State feels more like Smith trying to make a point rather than a good film.  The shame is that the explosive third act is well deserving of a better lead-in.

Michael Parks preaches to the choir in Kevin Smith's Re... Zzzzzzzzzz

In dividing his cast, and essentially the film, into three sections: sex, religion and politics, Smith abandons the usual approach of character development and seems little interested in a suspenseful thriller.  This becomes painfully evident when the abduction of three hormonally driven high-schoolers is followed directly by a tedious and drawn-out sermon by Abin Cooper (Michael Parks), head of the Westboro Baptist Church knock-off Five Points Trinity Church.  In an 88 minute film, no scene should ever feel so frustratingly endless.  Whatever momentum Red State builds up to this point is totally wiped out and it’s shocking that an experienced filmmaker like Smith, regardless of genre, would commit such a critical mistake.