15 years after its extended theatrical roadshow release, complete with Tucker Max and arrogant amateur screenwriter Nils Parker doing defensive Q&As for many of the screenings, I continue to be morbidly fascinated by the sheer existence of this film. Why, might you ask? Mainly due to the impossible oddity of how this awkward and inept adaptation of the wildly best selling ‘fratire’ memoir came to be; the squandered promise of the talent involved here, the hubris of its creators, and…

An almost unbearably nasty tale of failing friendships and social misdirections, unfolding as a series of sharply observed vignettes, directed and staged with a relentlessly visceral tone. Mary Bronstein’s uncompromising no budget debut—her only work to date—is a primal expression of grossly magnified, deeply rooted personality flaws. 

The late 2000’s MiniDV aesthetic and, at times, woefully muffled sound mixing is absolutely perfect for this type of squirmy material. All too rarely seen and screened outside of the festival circuit, and for…