Bart Got a Room
Bart Got a Room | |
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![]() Promotional film poster | |
Directed by | Brian Hecker |
Written by | Brian Hecker |
Produced by | Plum Pictures |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Hallvard Bræin |
Edited by | Danny Rafic |
Music by | Jamie Lawrence |
Distributed by | Anchor Bay Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Bart Got a Room is a 2008 comedy film written and directed by Brian Hecker, and stars Steven Kaplan, Alia Shawkat, William H. Macy, and Cheryl Hines. Also appearing in the film are Ashley Benson, Brandon Hardesty, Kate Micucci, Jennifer Tilly, Dinah Manoff (in her last film role as of 2022) and Chad Jamian Williams as Bart. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2008. It had a limited US release in select theaters on April 3, 2009, and was released on DVD on July 28, 2009.
Plot
[edit]![]() | This section needs an improved plot summary. (June 2024) |
The film chronicles nerdy high school senior Danny Stein and his unsuccessful attempts to secure a prom date while his divorced father and mother are on their own unsuccessful quests to find love. The film's name comes from the fact that the most unpopular kid in school, Bart Beeber, not only secured a date for the prom but got a hotel room after as well. This is a source of great anxiety for both Danny and his family.[1]
Cast
[edit]- Ashley Benson as Alice
- Steven Kaplan as Danny Stein
- William H. Macy as Ernie
- Cheryl Hines as Beth Stein
- Alia Shawkat as Camille
- Brandon Hardesty as Craig
- Kate Micucci as Abby
- Jon Polito as Bob
- Jennifer Tilly as Melinda
- Katie McClellan as Gertie
- Dinah Manoff as Mrs Goodson
- Michael Mantell as Dr. Goodson
- Chad Jamian Williams as Bart Beeber
- Angelina Assereto as Marcie
- Sam Azouz as Uncle Walter
Production
[edit]The filming took place in Hollywood, Florida.[2] The film is a semi-autobiographical story inspired by Hecker's life growing up as a nerd in South Florida.[citation needed] Hollywood Hills High School was used for the shooting of some scenes in the film. This movie marked the first time that Alia Shawkat, Dinah Manoff, and Michael Mantell have worked together since their appearances on the 2001-2002 TV series State of Grace.
Reception
[edit]Bart Got a Room won "Best of Fest" awards at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, the Asheville Film Festival, and the Chicago Gen Art Film Festival. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 70% of 37 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Just enough sweetness and good performances lighten up the high school-set tensions, creating a family-appropriate teen comedy."[3] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[4]
Greg Quill of the Toronto Star called the film "an affectionately nuanced comedy of manners", praising its "warm sensibility" reminiscent of Woody Allen's Radio Days, "judicious editing and superbly controlled performances", concluding that: "Bart Got A Room avoids most of the clichés of the genre, it also avoids the predictable denouement. The off-the-kilter final act is a brave, heart-warming surprise."[5] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times felt that Hecker was ill-equipped when directing Macy and Hines, saying she felt the latter was "underused" in her role. She later wrote that he does a better job with Kaplan and Shawkat, finding the former "engaging" and doing "a good job with giving his character the naiveté and desperation of a kid hoping to change what seems to be the "loser" setting of his life."[6] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote that despite Hecker capturing "knowing images" of Florida, she criticized his "antiquated" screenplay for lacking "freshness" in its given genre and giving his cast limited "caricature" parts, concluding that Tilly's five-minute cameo reminds viewers that "comedy without risk is as barren as a prom without a theme."[7] Susan G. Cole, writing for NOW, felt that Hecker made a mistake when taking the farcical path instead of the broad route when telling his teen comedy story with "unlikeable caricatures", saying, "[T]his indie pic demonstrates that a great setting, strong cast and decent premise won't save a bad script."[8] John Semley of Exclaim! felt the film was another Napoleon Dynamite facsimile that bypasses "funniness in favour of stylized quirkiness" for its content, criticizing its thin awkward charm, "mean-spirited" and "adolescent" jokes, and portraying itself as "an ugly, ersatz colouring book version of real life."[9] Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine criticized Hecker's "wafer-thin story" for being a "banal, half-sketched cartoon" filled with offensive humor and teen comedy clichés, concluding that Macy's portrayal of his character's "cornily scripted eccentricity" felt believable and he escapes "largely unscathed by sheer force of will."[10]
Soundtrack
[edit]In the opening sequence, the film features the song "Sing Sing Sing", played by the Hollywood Hills High School Band at the Hollywood Beach Bandshell.
References
[edit]- ^ Brandon Hardesty's page on the film Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bart Got A Room IMDb
- ^ "Bart Got a Room". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ "Bart Got a Room". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Quill, Greg (May 1, 2009). "Bart Got A Room: Date with fate". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Sharkey, Betsy (April 3, 2009). "Review: 'Bart Got a Room'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (April 3, 2009). "Big-Band Blues". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Cole, Susan G. (April 15, 2009). "Bart Got A Room". NOW. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Semley, John (April 30, 2009). "Bart Got A Room". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Gonzalez, Ed (March 29, 2009). "Review: Bart Got a Room". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
External links
[edit]- 2008 films
- 2008 comedy films
- 2008 directorial debut films
- 2008 independent films
- 2000s American films
- 2000s English-language films
- 2000s teen comedy films
- American independent films
- American teen comedy films
- English-language independent films
- Films about Jews and Judaism
- Films about proms
- Jews and Judaism in Florida