Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
You’ve seen plenty high school misfits, but you’ve never met Irene (Michelle McLeod).
The eponymous heroine of Don’t Talk to Irene, from writer-director Pat Mills, goes through all the usual rigors of high school (and then some) in her quest to become a cheerleader. This, despite being openly discouraged by her worrywart mom (Anastasia Phillips) and roundly mocked by mean girls like Sarah (Aviva Mongillo).
When one of Sarah’s cruel pranks gets both girls suspended and assigned to do volunteer work at a neighboring retirement home, Irene makes the best of the situation and recruits some of the elderly inhabitants (alongside other local misfits) to her fledgling dance troupe.
Combining quirky comedy, dance moves, the lewd habits of the elderly, Canada, and Geena Davis voicing herself as Irene’s spiritual guide and mentor, Don’t Talk to Irene received rave reviews as it did the festival circuit recently, and seems primed to enter the cult canon alongside other off-beat high school films.
But does Irene have what it takes to soar alongside some of the other picks in our Back to School series, or should she stay on the sidelines? — Brendan
Next Week’s Pick:
Continuing our Back to School series, history comes alive for two dopey but good-natured teen rockstar wannabes when a hip visitor from the future, knowing that the duo will have a profound influence on society, arrives on the eve of their last day of school to save them from flunking history, thereby bringing an end to the most excellent timeline. Armed with a time machine, the dudes set out on the ultimate cram session by rubbing shoulders with some of history’s most interesting personages firsthand. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a beloved 80s classic, but if you haven’t seen it in awhile you might be surprised at how incredibly smart and infectiously lovable it is. — Austin
9/14 — Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
9/21 — Back to School
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
The Team
Well, this was charming all get out. I wasn’t sure what to make of Don’t Talk to Irene at first, as the film’s twee sensibilities put me in mind of a Canadian Napoleon Dynamite about a decade past that particular aesthetic’s sell-by date. But there is a kindness and generosity to how Mills tackles this story, and there is just enough bite to the humor and worldview to give the proceedings a sense of weight, even as Irene is visiting the astral plane to speak with Geena Davis (long story).
Irene lays things on a bit too thick with characters like Irene’s Mom and bully, both of whom are such caricatures of shrill nastiness that their pre-ordained conversions to Irene’s side don’t work as well as the material between Irene and the seniors, or Irene’s bonding with some of the other misfits in town. But the film is such a cheery concoction that it’s hard to hold these imbalances against it. Don’t Talk to Irene strays towards some dark subject matter at times, but it’s ultimately a big warm hug of a film. (@theTrueBrendanF)
We all know and love Geena Davis the actress, but in the last few years she’s been quietly carving out a niche as a producer, promoter, and champion of independent film, especially in amplifying female voices, most notably as the co-founder of the Bentonville Film Festival. Davis lends her star power as a supporting character in Don’t Talk To Irene, but the film has charm to spare with a cast of quirky characters.
Chubby and sheltered Irene, who has a staggering lack of self-awareness, is immediately a heroine to root for. Even though she’s bullied and taunted endlessly, she follows her passions and never gives up (thanks in part to encouragement from Geena Davis), even when it means looking ridiculous. It’s pretty delightful watching her win over new senior friends (and other misfits) through her sincerity and get them to grudgingly join her dance troupe, culminating in a big finale that doesn’t go as planned but perhaps is something better. It does come off as a bit scripted and quirky for quirk’s sake, but is ultimately a winsome and surprisingly non-judgmental story that even ends with the suggestion that Irene’s tormentor Sarah is not beyond redemption.
The film targets R-rated laughs with profane humor and language (particularly among the cranky seniors) and does a fun job of it, but it’s interesting to think of how a cleaner version of this might play as a family film more accessible to young girls in need of encouragement. (@VforVashaw)
Irene has all the qualities of a high school outsider: She’s fat, has chunky glasses, and is unaware of her quirkiness. She’s also fearless.
The over-the-top happy ending that caps the film doesn’t feel contrived, but rather feels right for this young girl who knows who she is, what she wants, and won’t let anyone tell her she’s too flawed to have it. Irene is a teenager worth rooting for.
Editor’s Note: You can read Rod’s full review HERE. (@rodmachen)
Next week’s pick: