Sneak Preview: "Seeing Other People"

Oh man do you appreciate the good movies when they finally come. The one downside to this sneak preview program I?ve attended (since late-January) is that per-season (which consists of 8 - 10 screenings) you get around five or six mediocre titles to have to endure, and then only two or three good ones (at least that?s been the pattern so far).

This week the movie screened was Seeing Other People, starring Jay Mohr and Julianne Nicholson, which opened in limited release on Friday, May 7 (and this was fairly enjoyable). Director Wallace Wolodarsky, co-writer Maya Farbes, and actress Julianne Nicholson were all present after the show for the Q&A session. While Wolodarsky admitted that he expected the movie to be out of theaters after about a week, I think it could debut rather decently; if it doesn?t, it?s the kind of movie that could have done so given the right marketing attempt.

At 41, this guy is older than I would have guessed from looking at him from a distance, as he has that sort of high school audio/video geek look (but maybe 30ish-years old). But he was fun to listen to, and rather amusing since he still uses the term ?dude? (and has an excited, nerdy voice). Wolodarsky co-wrote the film with his wife, Maya Forbes, who had written for The Larry Sanders Show, and he had once served as a writer for The Simpsons.

Part of their inspiration for writing this script were the stories that Woody Allen once told, like Manhattan and Annie Hall. They liked the idea of imperfections within a marriage or relationship, and wanted to tell a story in which the common desires of any man or woman in a relationship are conveyed. They said that while there are some movies about relationships out there, few present this angle in the manner in which they crave to see them presented.

Wolodarsky said that he and Maya are the worst kind of business people, as they don't think like studio executives do; they simply write what they want to see, not really thinking about what demographics they'll be targeting. Their intent was to make a movie that is true to some extent or worthwhile for a moviegoer, and if they can accomplish that, they will be happy. Wolodarsky also said that they don?t really care if the movie bombs in theaters, since its video/DVD shelf life will be where most of the profit comes from.

The film was shot in three weeks on a low budget, on digital, and such a work schedule sent the cast and crew into a very intimate lifestyle. Julianne Nicholson commented that you live and breathe with everyone on set with such an intense shooting procedure, and you don?t get much time off to be on your own. In some ways she said it made shooting difficult, as you would be constantly working with not many breaks, which would challenge your stamina.

All three of them agreed that with the aggressive working schedule, the on-set relationships that were created helped the real relationships come to life within the story. Nicholson said that when you're constantly around the people whom you're going to be acting with, it makes acting more comfortable, and it gives you a surge of confidence to go out on a limb with them.

This close-knit community made Nicholson miss the good times they had during shooting after production wrapped. She said you spend so much time with everyone having fun, and then it?s hard to move on when production's over. I heard a similar comment from a crewmember who had worked on Animal House, who said that that was the best time he?d ever had in his entire life.

One young woman in the audience felt that Jay Mohr is underrated, and that this film proved that he can succeed with the right role. Wolodarsky noted that Mohr comes from a stand-up comedy past, and that most people know him as the jackass in Jerry Maguire. As a result, Mohr wanted to stray from that stereotype that he?d been living on for years and yearned to do a comedy like this where his role could be sympathetic. Wolodarsky said that Mohr was a walking comedian on the set, as any time anyone would come across him, Mohr would try his stand-up routines, which would oftentimes leave you cracking up.

The audience dug the movie and so did I, which is quite rare for me to agree with this crowd (and it took me more than three-fourths of the movie to realize that the Malcolm in the Middle dad was one of the actors, which tells you the acting is good). The week before, Laws of Attraction was screened and even that retrieved a fairly positive response (most people thought it was cute). While Seeing Other People is not a laugh riot, the audience laughed a solid amount, and one moment near the end actually did make it hard for me to stop laughing.

That wrapped it up for the evening, and on Wednesday (5/12) they are showing A Slipping Down Life. However, I will be out of town for most of the week, and so I will not be able to attend that screening. But my hope is that the movie's not anything special, as with this program?s track record it would be disappointing to miss something that?s actually ?good.?