Category: Events

Things to do in Austin Over Winter Break

How to make the most of your break

Story by: Nalani Nuylan

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The gift-giving, family time and quirky traditions. With a month to ourselves over the Holiday season, here are some festive activities you and your loved ones can do in Austin over winter break. 

See ZACK Theater present the “Christmas Carol”
Nov. 20 – Dec. 29
The ZACK Theater took this holiday classic from Charles Dickens and put a twist on it. Told with Victorian-era story structure and a musical score that includes elements of a variety of genres, this family-friendly spectacular is something you can’t miss this year. 

View the Ballet of Austin’s “The Nutcracker”
Dec. 7 – 23
This performance spans almost six decades, making it a staple holiday tradition in Austin. This artistic performance is a fresh take on the iconic tale. Click on the link to get your tickets now.   

SantaCon
Dec. 14 at 12 P.M. – Dec. 15 at 2 A.M.
This charity event hosted by SantaCon Austin aims to raise money for people in need in the most absurd way possible. This event is participatory: so bring a game or two, cash, toys, stickers, and buttons. You must be 21 or older to attend, photo ID will be checked.    

Celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival
Dec. 21
Hosted by restaurant and farm Eden East, visitors can come and enjoy a high-quality farm to market family-style buffet, live music, and gifts made by local artisans. Come and enjoy the longest night of the year. Must purchase a ticket to enter. 

Get in on Free Week   
From Jan 1 through 13, downtown Austin is filled with free events you can participate in, especially with that college budget. From free live performances by indie groups, you can see all the options for live performances and get in on some VIP deals in and around Austin just by clicking the link. 

The Annual Martin Luther King March
Jan. 20, 2020
Located at the MLK statue on the University of Texas in Austin’s Campus, the march will start at 9 A.M. The festival that celebrates diversity in Austin will be from 11:15 to 3:30 P.M. Austin Community College does not have school on MLK Day and the majority of the Austin area school districts also observe the holiday, so this is a perfect opportunity to take the family to downtown Austin and celebrate.   

SOJOURN Stands out in Stage 32 Screening at Austin Film Festival

Creativity and storytelling skills from around the country were on display in one of the many short film screenings at the Austin Film Festival

Review by: Alexa Smith

Austin Film Festival’s Stage 32 Short Film screening offered a variety of productions in varying genres. The short films originated from a contest that was hosted by Stage 32, an educational and social media platform for creatives. This is Stage 32’s 4th year hosting this contest and it is clear that they’ve found some gems even though some films struggled to match the quality of their competitors. 

The screening started with a film titled “Dolphin Girl” (director Tanya Lovrics). A rough way to start the screening as this was one of the weaker films shown. The film follows a young boy as he struggles to make friends after moving to a new town. A young girl befriends him and helps him find a way to fit in. We watch as the boy slowly figures out that the girl was actually a figment of his imagination. The plot sounds promising but ultimately fell victim to clunky dialogue and even clunkier sound design. The score is heartwarming but was overshadowed by the unbalanced sound effects and rough sound transitions. Overall, the movie is nice but lacked in production and writing quality. 

This first short left me worried about the quality of the following six films. However, the next film “Duke” (director Thiago Dadalt) assuaged my fears. Based on a true story, “Duke” is about a boy with severe autism. The film highlights the difficulties the family faces when trying to figure out how to help him. I feared the film would fall victim to stereotypes and flat characters as many stories of autistic people do, but Dadalt created a realistic picture of what it is like to live with autism. According to an interview Dadalt did with the Napa Valley Film Festival, he spent over a year with Duke’s family to really understand not just Duke but the relationship he had to his mother as well. The carefully conducted research is not where the film’s merits stop. The viewer can see how intricately this film was planned from the beautifully constructed shots and well-conducted lighting design. “Duke” had a lot of work and effort put into it and resulted in a heartfelt film. 

The following film, “The Man With a Pillow For a Face” (Director Carlos Grana) had fantastic production value and sported a gorgeous set. The lack of dialogue in the movie left the story somewhat open to interpretation but felt like a grasp for originality. This plot of a man being stuck in a repetitive rut every day and solving it with a dramatic action is nothing new. While the sight of a man’s body with a pillow head leads the viewer into an area of Uncanny Valley that is thrilling and disturbing at the same time – this film lacked the heart of the other films that not even a Black Mirror-worthy set can make up for. Despite these flaws, this film is still worth a watch for the production value and slightly terrifying ending alone. 

The next two shorts, “Dream Catcher” (Director Avery Rouda), and “Things That Fall” (Director Sy Huq) were some of the weakest ones of the bunch after “Dolphin Girl”. “Dream Catcher” is a computer-animated film that unfortunately had the quality of something from the mid-2000s. However, this did not take away from the creativity and imagination of writer/director/producer Rouda. “Dream Catcher” shows what goes on inside of a dreamcatcher in a child’s bedroom. We watch as employees in a dream factory take bad dreams and turn them into good ones. Even though the animation quality of this film put it behind the other ones, it does not take away the enjoyment and childlike wonder an audience member feels while watching it. While “Things That Fall” had fantastic sound design and impressive cinematography that featured beautiful bookshelf shots, the plot felt overdone. It was a simple meet cute with an interesting twist that was unfortunately not enough to keep it from feeling trite. “Things That Fall”  was still an enjoyable film and still has the ability to create a warm-fuzzy feeling.

The real standouts came in the form of the final two films of the screening. The final film that was shown, “Tell Him” (Director Virginia Bach) is a French film about a widowed father who is struggling with how to tell his son that his mother has passed that was created with empathy and the perfect amount of coldness. The film takes place over one day and starts in the morning with the boy asking about his mother. As the audience slowly starts to understand what is happening, we start to feel the same sense of dread the father must be feeling. This sense of dread is not just present in the actor’s performance but also in the cinematography and direction. Bach has crafted a film with extreme close ups that help us feel the stress of the father. While the trope of a dead mother can often be overused or relegated to being a simple plot point, this film takes time to watch the mourning father and for the audience to feel compelled enough to mourn along with him. The film’s excellence comes to a crescendo by ending with the son walking into the hospital room that his mother is supposed to be in. The film ends before we see the son’s reaction, showing that Bach trusted the audience enough to draw their own conclusions. 

“Tell Him” is a story told in a beautiful way. Even though “Tell Him” was the grand prize winner of the Stage 32 contest, I found the real star of the screening to be “SOJOURN: A Visual Proverb” (director Jonathan Lewis). This film exemplifies the creativity and rule-breaking that you hope to see in up and coming artists. Lewis is able to take the simple tale of returning home and turn it into so much more. The film lives up to its title of “A Visual Proverb”  by using poetic narration and artistic visuals interspersed with an African American man contemplating his place in the world on his journey back to his home. “SOJOURN” is such a great film not just because it tells a story that needs to be told but also because it is not afraid to take risks. Jonathan Lewis, who also wrote the film, says in his director’s statement on the film’s website, 

“I knew I had to lend my voice and story, as an aid to help young black men and others find peace within, and extend my hand to help close the gap between ignorance and understanding.” 

Lewis was able to use beauty and artistry to express issues he had dealt with and create a film that is so gorgeous you can’t look away. “SOJOURN” stood out from the crowd. 

The Stage 32 Short Film screening at the Austin Film Festival offered a wide array of points of view and stories told in 20 minutes or less. The screening as a whole helped show just how important it is to believe that your voice matters in the film industry. It also helped show why it is important to listen to the voices and stories of others. Stage 32 is doing a great job at helping bring up indie filmmakers not just through this contest but through the number of resources on their website as well. The website features a place for filmmakers to digitally network and learn more about their craft. This is a great tool to use if you are an RTF major at Austin Community College, so make sure to check them out. 

If you’re interested to learn more about any of the films mentioned, check out Stage 32’s contest page and keep an eye on the website for future screenings of the films. 

 

Clarification 11/26/19: “Dolphin Girl” was an additional screening shown at the Austin Film Festival and was not a part of the 4th Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program.

Austin Film Fest: A Patient Man Interview

The 26th Annual Austin Film Festival came to an end on Thursday, Oct. 31. As a hidden gem among the various film festivals from around the world, a variety of independent film screenings were showcased across the city. One of the screenings was “A Patient Man”, a film about a man who survives a car accident and is trying to piece his life back together. I had the amazing opportunity to sit down and interview Kevin Ward (Director), Harrison Reynolds (Producer), Rob Houle (Composer) and Jonathan Mangum (Lead Actor) about the drama thriller. 

To read the non-spoiler film review, click here.   

Interview by: Nalani Nuylan

*Interview has been edited to remove spoilers

NALANI NUYLAN: What inspired you to write the film?

KEVIN WARD: I live in LA and I had a long commute. For a while, I rode the train. It’s a weird experience: you do meet people and there are people you sit next to. I just like the idea if I were to befriend one of these people.

 

From the initial conception of the film to when you finished shooting, who long was that process?

KW: Four to four and a half years. The longest part of the process was looking for money.  

 

What inspired you guys to join the project?

ROB HOULE: I have known Kevin since college. We were in punk bands together. When I was out in LA, I knew he was making this film. I thought to myself, ‘He’s going to ask me to compose music for him, right?’ And he did.

JONATHAN MANGUM: Kevin asked my wife, who does casting, if she could help him out with the film. She gave me the script, and it’s rare to read something this good. I never get to do this kind of part, it’s always comedy. I said, ‘hey I want to do this’ and he gave me a chance to do it. 

HARRISON REYNOLDS: We started raising money for this film through crowdfunding. He had an original guy leave the day before. He called me the next day and I jumped on the project. We shot a trailer over two weeks and that’s what started this whole process.

 

I want to talk a little bit more about this role, Mr. Mangum. As you said, you are known for your comedy, so how was this role for you as an actor?

JM: It was different, yet I felt like I could relate to Tom (Mangum’s character) in a way. Comedy has some dark elements to it, but the goal is to make people laugh. Here I am making people believe that I am [justified], and that’s not easy either.

KW: I just want to say that any good actor can play a darker character, but not all actors can be comedians and make people laugh. We were truly lucky to have Jonathan.   

 

So, how much where you rewriting on set? How different does it feel from the original script?  

KW: I didn’t do much rewriting. I don’t know too much has changed between script to story. The cut I think is very different. The ending I think I monkeyed around with for a long time. This is an indie movie, this is what we got to shoot and there is no going back. The only real differences are what happened in the cut.  

 

What were the permits you needed for the film?  

KW: The only permit we bought was [for the City of Sacramento]. The interior of the train and the exterior of the train, those were the only permits we had. It was a lot of running and gunning. Every location was either borrowed or gotten off for cheap.

 

A lot of the audience members here today are writers and filmmakers, people who want to do what you did here today. Can you give some of the biggest lessons learned over the course of the project?

KW: There is a lot of things not to do, like don’t shoot on a moving train. I think the most important thing is to know that it is achievable. There is nothing mystical about making a movie. The hardest part about making this movie was finding the movie to do it, finding someone who believed in us and believed in the project. Shoot a trailer, show your friends, fail a few times, and do it again. 

JM: Don’t hold on to whatever idea you think ‘this is my big idea and it has to be perfect before I shoot it.’ Nope. Just shoot it, just get it done, and there will be more ideas. Don’t hold on to any one idea.

HR: Get a lot of feedback from your friends, family or whoever else you trust. [Have them] read your script, have them watch your cuts. Watch it with an audience: they’ll know what’s working, what’s not working, what are some of the plot holes. I think that is an important part of the process.      

 

And of course, I have to ask. We Austinites are very proud of our city. Is there a particular reason you choose to screen “A Patient Man” in Austin rather than the Toronto Film Festival or the Palm Springs Film Fest?

HR: I went to UT for my degree, so I am a little bit prideful in that sense. The main reason is that we wanted to have the experience, while the other film festivals are more glamorous.    

RH: I lived in Austin a while ago. It’s been amazing to see how much the city has changed and taken off since I left. I am glad we were able to be a part of the festival.  

JM: Austin also has this feeling about it that just makes this kind of work better. In LA, it’s more stressful while here it’s about the art of filmmaking.  

 

Lastly, is there anything that I missed which you gentlemen want to say?

HR: We just want to say a huge thanks to our volunteers in LA for making this film possible. Our whole staff and crew were volunteers. Their countless hours and work helped us make this film. We wouldn’t have done it without them.   

 

Ascending to New Heights

Story and Photos by: McKenna Bailey

Have you ever seen a poster around an Austin Community College campus that catches your eye, but you walk right past it? No matter which campus you attend, each of the communication boards provide helpful resources, information about student organizations, and other ways to engage yourself within the community. For many, Hispanics and Mexican-American students at ACC, a single poster provided them a life-changing experience.  

Right now, there are 130 thriving students that are participating in the ASCENDER program. According to Megan Diaz, the outreach specialist for the program, Ascender is, “A program for all 1st year ACC students, and it’s a transfer-mentor program which means that all students are paired with a mentor to give them guidance and support during their first year of college.”

The mentors involved in the program are community members from all walks of life. With a wide range of degree fields, these mentors are able to guide their students on the career path of their choice. Ascender comes from a student-made acronym of “Ascend”, meaning; Achieving, Student, Confidence, Encouraging New Dreams. 

Alejandra Polcik, the supervisor of Hispanic outreach projects, said Ascender, “Encapsulates the concept of the program, where the focus is on the success of the students, especially disadvantaged students. The goal is to transfer them to a 4 year [University], and eventually return to Ascender as a mentor.”

Ascender not only provides assistance to Hispanic or first generation college student but anyone who finds themselves struggling academically. The program combines accelerated instruction in english, math, academic counseling, and writing assistance. 

“All people are welcome to join Ascender as it is a very inclusive program, based on the principle of family, teamwork, and helping to care for each other. Ascender is very active at ACC, and also the Austin city community by taking part in events or creating their own special events.” says Diaz

In October 2019, Ascender participated in walking in the Viva La Vida parade in Downtown Austin. The Mexic-Arte Museum sponsored and created the 36th Annual Viva La Vida Parade & Festival this year. Otherwise known as the Día de los Muertos Parade, the event highlights the current Hispanic cultures in Austin, while using the day of the dead as a medium to celebrate Austin Hispanic heritage.

The event started first with a parade showing different aspects of Hispanic culture, like pre-Columbian to Austin-weird, then followed with a festival full of dancing, music, traditional food, and crafting marigold flower crowns. 

If you or someone you know would like to get involved in Ascender, visit their website to see upcoming events and how you can get enrolled into the program.  

 

Student Government Association takes on Washington DC

Photo Story by: Nikoo Vafaee

Hello Washington DC! The E-board members from ACC’s Student Government Association recently took a trip to Washington DC to attend the American Student Government Association conference. The conference was located in their hotel which included daily workshops on how to better their leadership, make connections, and more! After all the training they then got to explore many historical sites. Come along and see some photos of Washington DC!

South by South West – Music, Film, and Innovation

Video, Photos, and Story by – Ruben Hernandez

South by South West is a well-known major convention that takes place in Austin, Texas. It is comprised of many events, including a music festival, and film premieres, and even a Gaming Expo. Big names and celebrities, such as Taylor Bennett, and Olivia Wilde, make their way to Austin to enjoy a week of showcases and interactions.

One of SXSW’s main attraction is all of the sessions that are held that cover a wide variety of areas. Topics can range between things like SoundCloud usage in the music industry to the use of artificial intelligence by official publications to write news stories. If you want any sort of insight to trends in a variety of fields, SXSW is the convention to look in to.

The music festival is one of the highlights of this convention. This year, well-established artists like Khalid and Billie Eilish came to perform their music. Artists originating from all over the world, from countries like Korea and Costa Rica, take the stage to show Austin and people in the music industry what they have to offer.

Film is another unique aspect, with many showings and screenings of soon-to-come movies. Directors, filmmakers, and actors come in support of titles that are soon to hit theatres, generating buzz and anticipation. Movies like The Highwaymen and Villains were some of this year’s featured films.

Wrapping up the convention itself, SXSW hosts a Gaming Expo, where creators and companies come and showcase their developing games, software, and other merchandise to give gamers a taste of what is to come. Competitive tournaments were also held, featuring leading game titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Tekken 7.

While many people from all over the country come to Austin to enjoy this festival, most Austinites are concerned with one thing: the chaos that ensues during the week of SXSW. Because so many people are coming in such a short period of time, the streets of Austin become congested as thousands of people make their way through. Getting around, or even simply just driving down the street can be a hassle.

This year, SXSW took place from March 8 – 17, the week before Spring Break for Austin schools. Most years, Spring Break and SXSW fall in the same week, but that was not the case this time around. This added to the somewhat controlled chaos as tourists, students, and Austin natives mixed together to form a busy city.

Next year, SXSW will be held on March 13 – 22. Austin will once again become a hub for those who wish to experience the latest and coming trends of varying industries.

 

Hopscotch Light & Sound Helps Give HOPE Outdoor Gallery a Second Chance

Written By – Marissa Greene
Photos by – Alexa Smith

Following the closing of HOPE Outdoor gallery, Hopscotch Light & Sound partners with HOPE Campaign in the rise of controversy and popularity of immersive art.

You are scrolling down your timeline on Instagram, and then you see it: a photo of one of your friends posing in a room with vibrant colors, interesting shapes, and props. When clicking on the location of their post, you might be surprised that the photo was taken at a museum.

Between 2015 and 2016, museums such as the Renwick Gallery and the Museum of Ice Cream started getting all the craze amongst social media users due to these exhibits’ immersive art. Immersive art or installation art, as some may say, is a type of genre that includes three-dimensional works that are created to alter the viewer’s perception of the space.

These pop-up museums of immersive art usually migrate from one location to another and are in large warehouses that are sectioned off for different pieces (installations) of art. These museums can use anything from food, shapes, lighting, and emotions to create specific art installations and encourages the audience to be a part of it.

Immersive art has become highly popular with young adults and especially those who use social media, so much so that art museums have seen a significant increase in subscriptions and ticket sales. According to an article by The Atlantic in 2017, the Renwick Gallery drew in more visitors in six weeks than compared to the year prior after exhibiting immersive art.

Now more than ever, people are being invited to see themselves within art and the only frames are the ones audiences post on social media due to this trend. Some have even began to question if the nature of art museums are being compromised to drive in consumers and produce sales. This controversy is what had started the “Instagram factory” or “Instagram trap” reputation that some museums have today.

From February 14th till March 31st, the citizens of Austin got their own taste of immersive art from a pop-up exhibit known as Hopscotch Light and Sound. Within the 10,000 sq. ft warehouse was thirteen distinctive art installations. Hopscotch obtained a significant social media presence with 1,036 posts containing the hashtag #hopscotchlightandsound on Instagram.

“One of my sister’s friends came and posted a picture of it so I bought tickets to see for it myself,” visitor Abby Rink said. “Me and my friends are really just here to see and take pictures.”

Although the museum has lured visitors through social media platforms like Instagram, Nicole Jensen, co-founder of Hopscotch Light and Sound, states that was never their plan.

“We wanted to get the message out that this was about art,” Jensen said. “Despite a lot of people taking photos, which is fine we don’t fault them for, we know that there is a lot of Instagram-type factories out there and we wanted the people to know that wasn’t our intention.”

Hopscotch chose to get this message across to their audience in numerous ways. The museum contained 13 installations, where visitors could change the colors of a neon LED wall through an electronic paintbrush, scream into a microphone and see their soundwaves light up a piece of art, or even lounge in a clear-ball pit that was illuminated from lights below. Out of the 13 installations, more than half of the artists involved were local.

“The creator of the neon screen room is a street artist we asked to make his art come to life,” Jensen said. “There is not a point of gravity for immersive artists to show their pieces, and similarly, there aren’t a lot of places for large amounts of people to go experience it.”

Not only did Hopscotch come to Austin to showcase a local artist’s work, but also to fund a cause. In 2016, the well-known HOPE outdoor gallery, also known as graffiti park, announced they were looking for a new location and closed the space from the public on January 2nd, 2019. HOPE and Hopscotch decided to partner up, with all of the sales made from Hopscotch Light & Sound would go into funding the new HOPE outdoor gallery coming later this year.

“I think a lot of people were upset when the downtown location closed,” Jensen said. “However, to me, I think the new gallery will be way better because it will be curated proper space with art shows and food and drinks.”

The once abandoned condo project that started in the mid-to-late ’80s will soon be a much larger space with restrooms, space for art classes, and more parking. HOPE also has values to preserve the art made at the gallery instead of it being tagged with other visitors names or phrases, something that has seen a lot at the outdoor gallery prior. Jensen not only sees much promise in the new gallery but also sees this as a big step for the Austin community.

“People are saying that Austin is losing it’s weird and I think that’s on us,” Jensen said. ”We can’t just say, ‘Oh a place closed that was 20 years old, Austin isn’t weird anymore.’ We have to keep cultivating the weird. The saying is ‘Keep Austin Weird and Support Local Business,’ so I think that is very important that everyone lives here continues to live that motto if they want Austin to stay the same.”

As immersive art continues to be a trend within this day and age, many look forward to the next pop-up gallery coming to their city whether it is specifically for their Instagram feed or not. The new HOPE outdoor gallery will be located in Carson Creek Ranch and plans to open up this coming fall of 2019. Hopscotch is planning on having a permanent location in San Antonio, moving from a 10,000 sq ft warehouse to a 17,000 sq ft facility in the fall as well.

Career Exploration – ACC Job Fair

Story By – Delondra DeFreeze

The Austin Community College Job Fair & Career Exploration Event this Spring was a success. Students from across all 11 campuses came together at the Highland campus in search of opportunities. Career Services hosted the event and brought together businesses like IBM and Amazon in the ACCelerator. It wasn’t hard for the sea of professionally dressed students to find supportive words of encouragement from staff members and volunteers at the event.

The ACCelerator housed over 100 businesses for students to network with. Grant Loveless, Student Ambassador for Career Services, values the opportunities that were made available to ACC students.

“The Job Fair was created to bring opportunity and access to Austin Community College students, as well as Austinites,” Loveless said. “It also helps connect student organizations and different opportunities out there for full-time, part-time, internships, externships, and volunteer work to students at all of ACC’s 11 campuses.”

The businesses featured at the Job Fair were organized by Area of Study with Area of Study Advisors located near each section. Students had access to LinkedIn profile headshots, onsite resume labs, and ACC resource tables. The Student Money Management Office also facilitated a free credit report station. The study rooms normally available in the ACCelerator were turned into interview rooms for onsite interviews.

K&G Fashion Superstore and the Austin Community College Fashion Incubator sponsored a work attire fashion show. Katie Johnson, a Creative Writing major, had the opportunity to model in the show.

“I had fun modeling in the fashion show,” says Johnson. “I was excited and nervous. I looked for Youth Development jobs since I used to work for the Boys & Girls Club.” 

ACC’s Job Fair gave students access to a variety of career options.

“This event can open up a lot of door for students when it comes to their aspirations and for their academic and professional journeys,” says Loveless. “It is impactful when you see a student that has an urge to get an internship with a radio station or a job working with kids like the YMCA or doing volunteer work that includes kids like the Boys & Girls Club or Boy Scouts.”

 

When it comes to equipping students with networking skills and professionalism, Career Services is here to help.

“I talk to a large amount of students about Career Services,” Loveless said. “Some people don’t know what it is and the other half don’t know how to utilize it. The one thing I want any and all students to know is that Career Services is here to help. With Career Services we help you build your resume. We help you build your cover letter. We help you build job interview skills. We help you cultivate yourself as a leader. We push you in the direction you want to go in.”

Austin Community College students are not only learning networking skills, but also applying their knowledge in real world situations like the Job Fair.

 

Film Review: “Greener Grass” SXSW 2019 Premiere

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Review & Photo by Taylor Kokas

Haven written and starred in the short film of the same name that premiered at SXSW 2016, Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe are back in 2019 as writer/director duo and once again stars of their debut feature film, Greener Grass. An absurd satire about life in suburbia where people push politeness to the extreme, especially Jill (DeBoer) and Lisa (Luebbe), two soccer moms both married with children. From the beginning we are introduced to the theme of the film, it’s a bright clear sunny day, we find Jill and Lisa sitting on the benches gossiping about one of their friends while watching their son’s soccer game. Lisa interrupts their conversation having noticed that Jill is holding her new baby (which Jill has obviously been holding since the start of the film). Lisa compliments the baby “I love her”, which Jill is taken aback by her words and replies “Lisa…do you want her?”. By the end of the scene Lisa has literally adopted Jill’s new born baby.

I think the director duo succeeded in their mission to express the idea of how far are we willing to put politeness over our own happiness. Over the course of the movie we are shown that idea through Jills relationship with Lisa, as Jill puts politeness before happiness it begins to shatter her life while improving Lisa’s. This film also does a wonderful job of world building from the weekend soccer games, big houses with white picket fences, driving golf carts instead of cars, to every adult literally wearing braces. Sure there are times in the film where it feels redundant but if you posses this sense of humor it’s a must watch. Worth mentioning that SNL’s Beck Bennet plays Jill’s husband in the film, which was definitely a perfect casting choice. Speaking of, the closest comparison is Saturday Night Live, where every scene is pretty much a skit, pushing the absurdity just a little each time while still managing to tell the larger story at the core of every scene. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”5098″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]

Dawn Luebbe (Left), Jocelyn DeBoer (Right)

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