Geekscape Movie Reviews – Nick Gregorio’s Green!
You don’t see many ‘independent comedies’ anymore. Oh sure, there are lots of independent movies that aspire to make you laugh, but the term ‘independent comedy’ doesn’t really mean that. After the surge of the mid-90’s, when films like Clerks and Swingers briefly reigned supreme, this quirky subset of popular cinema split in two directions. Independent comedies became more refined, evolving into Sideways and its ilk, or they became more of a black sheep than ever. Plotlines involving 20-something guys hanging out and talking about… you know, stuff… quickly became archaic curiosities of a bygone age. Geekscapist Nick Gregorio’s new film, Green, harkens back to this lost, lamented era. It’s a comforting film, not an accomplished one, but back in the heyday of independent comedies that would have been enough. Now it’s relegated to the perilous land of self-distribution.
Wait, Geekscape reviewing a film by a noted ‘Scapist? Where’s that journalistic integrity we’re so famous for, or at least once discussed briefly over hot dogs and beer? Have no fear, readers. I do not particularly know this Nick Gregorio person, nor do I care about his feelings. Besides, I work for more sites than just Geekscape anyway (and even on Geekscape have I ever pulled punches?). If Green blew chunks I’d tell you. It doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean I love it. It’s a flawed film that suffers from pacing issues and inconsistent performances, but that’s part of the whole independent comedy charm. This is the kind of comedy that offers mild bemusement instead of belly laughs, and likable characters instead of compelling ones. It’s just this damned movie, and it’s pretty good for what it is, and what it is… is just not bad.
Gregorio stars as Cole, a successful drug dealer from New York (he wears a suit and everything) who migrates to Hollywood to start a legitimate business… selling drugs. I suppose you can’t blame the guy for wanting to stick to his strengths. Cole moves in with his friend Ripp (Danny Myers), who has been working in a legal marijuana dispensary for a while now. He’s particularly fond of the free samples. But it’s not until Cole moves all the way out to Cali that he discovers there’s a moratorium on new weed outlets. What’s a career criminal to do?
Green the Official Trailer from Nick Gregorio on Vimeo.
Gregorio and his co-writer Troy F. Kaplan don’t have a particularly good answer to that question. Offhand the possibilities are many: he could ingratiate himself into the illegal side of the industry in a new and unfamiliar criminal underworld, or he could use his mob connections to strong-arm his way through the legal red tape. But Cole’s history of crime rarely informs his character, and pretty soon he’s content to take a 9-to-5 gig at Ripp’s place of employment, ‘The Garden of Weeden.’ That’s a major step down from his previous position, and a massive step down from his ultimate goal, but that’s nothing compared to the indignity of discovering that Cole’s asshole boss Wes (John Hawkes of Zombie Strippers, not John Hawkes of Winter’s Bone) is dating Cole’s ex-fiancé Bailey (Michelle Nunes).
Despite the strong set-up, Green never feels plot-driven. Nor is it driven at all, really. Despite likable – if spotty – performances all the characters are content to be in the film without actually propelling it forward. There’s a bit of a heist at the end but before that Green hits all the familiar independent comedy tropes like hanging out, smoking weed, dealing with annoying customers and finding out that your ex is dating the wrong guy. There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with these clichés – clichés are clichés for a reason – but despite some occasionally amusing situations and side characters the clichés distract from a plot that could have been a heck of a lot more involving than it is. And like many of its independent comedy ilk before it, the editing itself is tidy but relaxed, letting each scene breath. It creates an air of familiarity, making Green impossible to dislike, but it also saps the energy from a story that could have been lively and unexpected.
Oh yes, and Geekscapist Numero Uno Jonathan London plays a gangbanger, but his performance exists in a strange state of Quantum Entanglement, both reviewed and unreviewed. He’s in the film, that’s for sure, but to say any more about a man I know – and know well – would invalidate the entirety of the critique. I encourage you to see the film yourself to discover if his wild-eyed antics infest the film like a sudden, annoying outbreak of herpes (Editor’s Note: they do), or if his Mad TV acting style provides a pleasant change of pace from Green’s otherwise muted performances (Editor’s Note: barely, but only because you know him). Also of note, Geekscape frequent guest Amra “Flitz” Ricketts from Nerdiest Kids also appears in an entertaining capacity as the weed dispensary’s security guard.
Green is available on DVD at the film’s website (linked below), and fans of the 1990’s era of slacker comedies are encouraged to check it out for themselves to see if you’d like to hang out in a back alley getting blazed with the filmmakers or if you’d prefer to regard them from afar, amused by their foibles but not interested in joining them. It’s better than it has any right to be, given its ambitions, but those ambitions also limit its potential for excellence. Green is a likable film, and a fine promise of future greatness from its filmmakers, but it’s only the first step on the path to that greatness. Keep trekking, fellas. If Green is any indication… you’ll get there eventually.
