Anyone who has visited Hollywood Boulevard knows it’s a memorable place, for all sorts of reasons. The people who make their way on this iconic stretch of road must have some interesting backstories. Forelock imagines one such tale that gets at the good, the bad and the weird of one of La La Land’s sketchiest locales.
The impersonators up and down this street are a fixture, and none more so than Superman. Writer, directer and lead Caleb Alexander Smith decided to make this cultural touchstone the jumping off point for the main character. This makes all the sense in the world when you get a load of him: a shockingly similar look and build to modern depictions of the character, most notably that of Henry Cavill. (Interestingly, while making this movie, he also auditioned for the recently released film about the Man of Steel.)
When we first meet Caiden (Smith), he’s just one more midwesterner heading to Southern California to make his way, but instead of the acting bug, he wants to “pump… you up.” His chiseled frame doesn’t want to show off but rather show how. Though he immediately hits some big obstacles in his quest to become a personal trainer, he stays active throughout, notably stopping at often inopportune times to knock out some air squats throughout the movie.
When he’s pushed into impersonating, first for children’s birthday parties (this goes badly) and then on the street in Hollywood (not much better), the story takes a turn by introducing Randy (David Krumholtz), a Mario impersonator with a heart of gruff. He pulls Caiden into various schemes that inevitably go south.
Most of these have to do with drugs, which happen to involve Niko (Jason Wiles), a semi-psychotic dealer. On the other side of the ledger is a shady cop who keeps Randy in her pocket as a non-consensual informant. The web they all weave is tangled, leading to an incident that threatens to do in our heroes.
Smith has taken the traditional buddy movie, leaned heavily into the likes of Midnight Cowboy, and has come away with a fresh take on the genre. The Caiden character certainly exudes flyover-country naivety, but he’s both likable and easy to root for. Krumholtz uses his “curmudgeon comedy” to full effect, and the work is better for it.
Forelock swims in somewhat familiar waters, but with strong lead performances, a witty script, and a solid production, this is a movie that audiences will surely enjoy. Accept no impersonations.
Saw this film at AFF and thought you nailed it with this review! “Smith has taken the traditional buddy movie, leaned heavily into the likes of Midnight Cowboy, and has come away with a fresh take on the genre. The Caiden character certainly exudes flyover-country naivety, but he’s both likable and easy to root for. Krumholtz uses his “curmudgeon comedy” to full effect, and the work is better for it.
Forelock swims in somewhat familiar waters, but with strong lead performances, a witty script, and a solid production, this is a movie that audiences will surely enjoy.”