Sundance Film Festival 2020 Day2A & B

They can’t all be winners…

Zola

“ ‘You wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.’

Zola meets Stefani at a restaurant where Zola waitresses, and the two immediately click over pole dancing. Only a day after they exchange numbers, Stefani invites Zola on a cross-country road trip, where the goal is to make as much money as possible dancing in Florida strip clubs. Zola agrees, and suddenly she is trapped in the craziest, most unexpected trip of her life.”

Stefani and Zola

COULD be a crazy romp, and kinda was. Excellent acting. I liked that there was very little to none titillating nudity - this was not a T&A show. There were surprises, though maybe not all that many. Meaning, it was okay, but it did not really stir me, in any of several possible senses. And that’s all I have to say. First movie of the day… kinda a dud, but not a BAD movie. We’ll get to one of those later.

“Janicza Bravo (Lemon, 2017 Sundance Film Festival) returns to the Festival with this outrageously unique and eccentrically animated saga that was first chronicled in 144 tweets posted by A’ziah King on October 27, 2015. Written by Bravo and playwright Jeremy O. Harris, Zola frames the protagonist’s narrative in a groundbreaking exchange that plays with and questions perspective. Bravo’s luscious atmosphere and impeccable attention to detail is unequaled and further confirms the sophomore director as a visionary voice of American independent cinema.”

BAD HAIR

“Los Angeles, 1989. Anna Bludso (Elle Lorraine) is a scarred survivor of a scalp burn from a mild relaxer perm. She also has the smarts and ambition to be the next on-air star at Culture, a music video TV show. After years of struggling to be seen for her ideas and hard work, Anna fears the worst when her dreadlocked boss is replaced by Zora (Vanessa Williams), an ex-supermodel with a silver tongue. Zora warns Anna that her nappy look has got to go, so Anna bites the bullet and gets a weave. Turns out, her flowing new hair is the key to success—but it arrived with a mind of its own, and it bites back!”

From Zola to Zora… I like to see ONE Horror Film at Sundance because… well, I am not a Horror Film fan, just not my thing. But Sundance has some intelligent, zany, and not entirely serious horror films that I have enjoyed, usually late at night, perhaps even after midnight. This could be one of those, but it did not quite pull it off.

Three main characters. Zora is in the middle.

I saw a documentary at Sundance 2009 about Good Hair, specifically Black Women’s Hair. It is excellent. Recommended. This background recognition of the issues surrounding this subject helped in understanding the premise of this flick. The movie was well-acted. I liked the title character and the likable secondary characters… but it did not quite click for me. Too little suspense, a little too much ridiculousness. Unclear as to whether this was a drama, a comedy, a farce, or a horror movie. Elements of each were present, and… 2 stars (out of 4). Some redeeming features. These two were the start of Day2, Saturday at the Grand Theater in Salt Lake City.

This year, like last year, I got myself a Grand Theater pass, so I am drawn to see the movies at the Grand Theater in SLC that I have already paid for. They have decent programming there, but not always to my taste. These first two movies on Saturday were not to my taste. For the next movie, I ventured off into the hinterlands of Salt Lake to the Library… but that is another post!

“Writer/director Justin Simien (Dear White People, 2014 Sundance Film Festival) triumphantly returns with this brilliant satirical psychological thriller that is bound to get Park City talking all over again. Simien plaits his incisive wit with startling moments of horror in this deliciously nostalgia-drenched creation. Flexing a hilarious ensemble cast led by Lorraine’s breakout performance, Bad Hair is cult-classic material.”

Hmmm. Not bad enough to be a cult-classic. Just kinda… limp.