Film Review

Smear Tactics (2006)

Genre: Comedy, Horror
Director(s): Goosama Bin Gander
Producer(s): Goosama Bin Gander
Writer(s): Goosama Bin Gander
Running Time: 1 hr 28 min
Release Date: 8/21/06
Production Budget: $200

Synopsis: A deadly shipwreck involving a cargo of Nepalese yetis off the coast of Oregon is reported to have no survivors, yet a tulip toting Euro-sophisticate, Karkass Fairfax, appears the next day in the town of Kneedeep. Beautician Tammy Pooch falls for him, upsetting her boyfriend, Reuben, who attempts to run Karkass out of town. But Karkass has plans of his own involving beauty pageant contestants Ulna and meter maid Magee. Tammy gets miffed, and wholeheartedly engages in the guilty pleasures of smear tactics.

REVIEW

Disclaimer: This movie was shot for $200. Despite that and other obvious limitations, SMEAR TACTICS, a story which follows a shipwrecked, tulip toting Euro-sophisticate, Karkass Fairfax , was interesting. It is a comedy by humorous word-play loving Goosama Bin Gander, the nom de plume of the writer/director who "wishes to remain detached from his given name since he revels in social anonymity" (usually not a good sign when a director feels the need to hide behind a pseudonym.)

This film will fall into the "odd" category for most viewers. At times, it will test your patience for the strange. It comes complete with a host of quirky characters, which manage to help redeem the project. Gander admits that "the actors were encouraged to push the absurdity envelope with their body language, and this gave the script a great visual accompaniment."

Though the truth may never be told, one of two things happened here. Either someone lost a bet in which the loser had to make an improvisational movie on the spot or this was an acting class's final project. It definitely has the feel of the latter but you never know. It is a dialogue driven script that has the feel of being shot in someone's back yard with additional scenes shot in the basement. But then again, you can't expect too much when considering the aforementioned disclaimer.

Though finishing strong, SMEAR TACTICS gets off to a rough start in that the first quarter of the movie utilized all single shots that grow to be aesthetically tiresome at times. "Using only one camera forced me to shoot many conversations one actor at a time in order to achieve the fast pan between actors. This is hard to edit with integrity…The main challenge was to edit the many takes into a tight and fast-moving film. Clipping scenes to a bare minimum and discarding fluff is difficult when it comes to discarding some of your actor's hours of hard work in order to create a better pace for the film's audience. I tried to imagine a neutral audience watching the film for the first time, and pieced together the movie's elements with this in mind."

Finally, kudos to those several actors who played various roles. One of the most humorous characters was that of Mudflap, played by fellow listed only as "Goose" in the credits, a zany character who runs a retreat center in the movie hometown base of Knee Deep. Wooo!

Notable Quote: "If ifs and buts were beer and nuts, we'd all have a party!" - Judge Chootah, SMEAR TACTICS

SMEAR TACTICS is available for purchase at www.filmbaby.com.


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	Film Review Smear Tactics (2006) Genre: Comedy, Horror Director(s): Goosama Bin Gander Producer(s): Goosama Bin Gander Writer(s): Goosama Bin Gander Running Time: 1 hr 28 min Release Date: 8/21/06 Production Budget: $200 Synopsis: A deadly shipwreck involving a cargo of Nepalese yetis off the coast of Oregon is reported to have no survivors, yet a tulip toting Euro-sophisticate, Karkass Fairfax, appears the next day in the town of Kneedeep. Beautician Tammy Pooch falls for him, upsetting her boyfriend, Reuben, who attempts to run Karkass out of town. But Karkass has plans of his own involving beauty pageant contestants Ulna and meter maid Magee. Tammy gets miffed, and wholeheartedly engages in the guilty pleasures of smear tactics. REVIEW Disclaimer: This movie was shot for $200. Despite that and other obvious limitations, SMEAR TACTICS, a story which follows a shipwrecked, tulip toting Euro-sophisticate, Karkass Fairfax , was interesting. It is a comedy by humorous word-play loving Goosama Bin Gander, the nom de plume of the writer/director who "wishes to remain detached from his given name since he revels in social anonymity" (usually not a good sign when a director feels the need to hide behind a pseudonym.) This film will fall into the "odd" category for most viewers. At times, it will test your patience for the strange. It comes complete with a host of quirky characters, which manage to help redeem the project. Gander admits that "the actors were encouraged to push the absurdity envelope with their body language, and this gave the script a great visual accompaniment." Though the truth may never be told, one of two things happened here. Either someone lost a bet in which the loser had to make an improvisational movie on the spot or this was an acting class's final project. It definitely has the feel of the latter but you never know. It is a dialogue driven script that has the feel of being shot in someone's back yard with additional scenes shot in the basement. But then again, you can't expect too much when considering the aforementioned disclaimer. Though finishing strong, SMEAR TACTICS gets off to a rough start in that the first quarter of the movie utilized all single shots that grow to be aesthetically tiresome at times. "Using only one camera forced me to shoot many conversations one actor at a time in order to achieve the fast pan between actors. This is hard to edit with integrity…The main challenge was to edit the many takes into a tight and fast-moving film. Clipping scenes to a bare minimum and discarding fluff is difficult when it comes to discarding some of your actor's hours of hard work in order to create a better pace for the film's audience. I tried to imagine a neutral audience watching the film for the first time, and pieced together the movie's elements with this in mind." Finally, kudos to those several actors who played various roles. One of the most humorous characters was that of Mudflap, played by fellow listed only as "Goose" in the credits, a zany character who runs a retreat center in the movie hometown base of Knee Deep. Wooo! Notable Quote: "If ifs and buts were beer and nuts, we'd all have a party!" - Judge Chootah, SMEAR TACTICS SMEAR TACTICS is available for purchase at www.filmbaby.com.