1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Quit your job..., February 16, 2005
This review is from: You Are Here (DVD)
One of the special features on the DVD for You Are Here* (2000) is something called a Director's Statement, or, as listed on the DVD case, a Director's Introduction...an introduction? Well, seems to me that's something I should watch before starting the film, so I did...it featured director Jeff Winner offering views on his film, almost like he was trying to justify why he made it, also, telling us if we don't like it, and we see him on the street, that we shouldn't bother telling him so...this didn't instill a sense of urgency for my seeing the film. Essentially what I got from the introduction was, `Hey, you may not like this film, and I'm sick of hearing people telling me so, but your dislike probably stems from your lacking the inspiration and vision to fully comprehend my labor of love.' That's not actually what he said, but that's the way it came across...and it's funny, as with that brief piece, he severely lowered my expectations of the film, but it wasn't actually that bad...not great, by any means, but not all bad. As I mentioned, You Are Here* (2000) was written and directed by someone named Jeff Winner, whose only other directing credit is for a film called Satellite (2004), which I've never heard of...starring in this film is Todd Peters (who shares in the writing credits), Randall Jaynes (Satellite), Caroline Hall (Standard Time), and Ajay Naidu, whom many may remember as the frantic office employee Samir Nagheenanajar in the Mike Judge film Office Space (1999).
The film is about four twenty-something characters and is centered on Moe (Peters), as he's basically the linking element. Moe is an artist, but he makes his living at a menial job, working along side Sanjay (Naidu). The other two characters come in the form of Moe's friend Sallie (Hall), whom I gather Moe met while they were both attending art school way back when (Sallie makes several references as such), and finally Jason (Jaynes), Moe's eccentric roommate. Anyway, the day Moe plans to quit his job and pursue his dream of being a fulltime artist, he's offered a promotion at work ("It's a whole two dollars and hour more!") based solely on the fact that a co-worker who held the job met with an untimely demise. Moe's resolve to terminate his employment fizzles, but not so much for the extra money, but because he appears hesitant to commit to such a radical change, and the promotion offers and excuse enabling him to avoid the issue for a while longer...which seems to be the running theme with the other three as well...Sanjay has an advanced degree in some field, political science I believe, but continues to work in an even more menial job than Moe because `he doesn't have all the pieces' to turn his education into a career...and Sallie, well, she just quit her job for reasons I never fully understood, but I think it had something to do with the fact that she slept with one or two of her co-workers, including the manager...and then there's Jason, the oddest of an odd bunch, who actually gets an opportunity that may lead to a well paying career, but, upon learning how well the interview went and the strong possibility he may get the position, sabotages his own chances, and then blames it on the interviewer...as the story progresses, the three offer Moe encouragement, in their own, unique ways, to find it within himself to release himself of the shackles of drab conformity and focus on his true calling, that of an artist....which he does in an unusual way after a night involving much consumption of fermented beverages...
I wanted to like this film, but it seemed to offer so little to like. The actors were decent, but the characters, as they were written, tended to boring and without substance. Honestly, it got to the point where I didn't care whether or not Moe followed his calling or not, as his timid, wishy-washy nature got a little annoying. I could relate at some level as probably many could, as there does come a point in your life where you have to decide on a direction, unless you're one of those individuals that knows from an early age what you want to do with your life, and even then things don't always work out the way they are planned. The character of Jason was interesting (but shallow), and he sort of reminded me of the character of Kramer, from the sitcom Seinfeld, only not as funny. The two most interesting characters, Sanjay and Sallie, were relegated to relative inconsequentiality. I would have liked to have seen more of Sallie, but I think this may have been a case of male writers not knowing how to write for a female character. I think the film would have been best served making Naidu's character of Sanjay the main character, replacing Moe, as he was much more interesting, and the potential for exploration was there, but never realized. Plus, I think Ajay Naidu is very underrated...his role in Office Space was the highlight of a rather bland film. The movie is shot entirely on location, within some seedy area of New York, and features some very good music by many artists I've never heard of, and one I have in Rocket from the Crypt (too bad the plot wasn't as lively as the music).
The widescreen picture looks pretty crummy, as I think the film was shot on digital video. This has the effect of presenting a drab and lifeless picture. I know digital video is cheap, but come on...if filmmaking is your passion, find a way to use real film. The audio is passable, but sometimes hard to discern. Special features include a trailer, a photo gallery, the above-mentioned introduction, ten deleted scenes, and an enjoyable director's commentary. A decent effort that didn't quite make it, for me at least...
Cookieman108
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