Wild Girl Waltz
It’s rare, nowadays, to see an independent film that’s just a comedy. Pure, unadulterated laughs. Nothing more, nothing less. Writer-director Mark Lewis, who also made a film I reviewed in 2009 called “Baystate Blues,” has done just that with “Wild Girl Waltz.”
The premise is simple– two women (Tara, played by Samantha Steinmetz, and Angie, played by Christina Shipp), bored by life in a small town, decide to take some pills, and hijinks ensue. Seriously, that’s all there is to it. Well, Tara’s boyfriend, Brian (Jared Stern), is forced to babysit them until they come down, but otherwise, there’s not a lot of plot. Normally, that might be a problem, but the film has plenty of goofy charms and off-the-wall laughs to sustain it for 82 minutes.
Because of the thin story, there’s not really a lot to talk about. The performances are fine (hardly Oscar-worthy, but definitely entertaining, especially as Tara and Angie get goofier and goofier), but the dialogue helps a lot. There are some smart, very funny lines here and there are some hilarious conversations that take place after Angie pies a guy in the crotch (don’t ask). When Brian joins in, the movie goes from being good to hilariously, absurdly great. Well, great might be a strong word for such a goofy comedy, but it’s definitely one of the funniest, most laid-back and enjoyable movies I’ve seen in a good long while, and that’s something to treasure when they come along.
