Fantastic Fest Flashback: 'Role Models' and 'Repo' Guests

David Wain and Paul Rudd at Fantastic Fest

Two movies opening in theaters today played at Fantastic Fest earlier this year, so it seems like a good time to share some photos from those events. (Yay, I have an excuse to post the photos late without looking like I procrastinated! Ahem.) Plus, some of us will use any excuse to post pictures of Paul Rudd. I am not ashamed to admit that.

Role Models was one of the "super-secret screenings" at Fantastic Fest, playing at midnight near the end of the fest. The movie stayed a secret for awhile because for whatever reason, a lot of people thought the screening would be My Name is Bruce with you-know-who in attendance. Something on Bruce Campbell's website sounded like a hint. But then the website changed, people In The Know hinted other things, and someone whispered the title to me about ten minutes beforehand. Even then, I didn't believe them until we were in the theater and the title was announced. Someday I should keep track of every rumor about secret screenings during Fantastic Fest, the wilder guesses are hilarious.

You've probably seen the trailers for Role Models. Normally I would not be excited about a comedy where two immature guys end up stuck mentoring a couple of kids, and you just know everyone's going to be enriched by the experience and it will be heartwarming but also have a lot of dorky physical humor. And I wasn't terribly excited, but the movie was more entertaining than I would have guessed from the trailers. Some of the gags were surprising and hilarious, Jane Lynch makes me laugh in just about anything, and Paul Rudd was marvelous. Obviously I'm biased about Rudd, but I'm more than willing to point out when he's not great (see my Over Her Dead Body review). He was definitely in his best comic element here as a sarcastic slacker, and also quite easy on the eyes. Finally, director David Wain kept the sentiment to a minimum, which I appreciated.

After the movie, Paul Rudd and David Wain showed up -- this was about 1:30 a.m., mind you -- and held one of the funniest Q&A sessions I've ever encountered. Here they are, cracking each other up:

David Wain and Paul Rudd at Fantastic Fest

I wish I'd recorded the Q&A on video, or even audio, to share. Instead you have to settle for photos, like this one of Paul Rudd:

Paul Rudd at Fantastic Fest

But wait! A quick YouTube search shows that the Fantastic Fest/Alamo crew was there with a video camera and edited together some of the highlights from the Wain/Rudd Q&A:

Another movie that had quite a following at Fantastic Fest was Repo: The Genetic Opera. I went to the last screening of the film at the festival, and already some audience members were watching the film for the second time, and had started a fan site. Co-writer/composer Terrance Zdunich was at the premiere screening along with director Darren Bousman. Here they are on Fantastic Fest's mini-red carpet -- I have some more genteel photos of Zdunich, but this was my favorite.

Repo! at Fantastic Fest

Fantastic Fest comes to the rescue again, this time with video of an interview with the director and composer, right before the premiere.

In addition, a number of people in costume were at the premiere, dressed as characters from the film. It was all very Rocky Horror except without so much fishnet hose. Here are a bunch of the costumers on the red carpet:

Repo! at Fantastic Fest

I wanted to like Repo!, but I found the music to be terribly grating and the storyline didn't interest me much. Admittedly I saw it at midnight after a long day, and maybe if I gave it another chance I would like it more. As it was, I lasted about 20 minutes and then stumbled home to bed. But bear in mind that I only lasted about 5 minutes into Dr. Horrible, so your mileage may vary.

You can see both these movies starting today in various Austin theaters. Or you could go see Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which is around for a second weekend, and which I liked much better than these two flicks. Which reminds me, I think I still have some Kevin Smith photos to share from Fantastic Fest ... In the meantime, check out my Fantastic Fest 2008 Flickr set for more photos of Rudd and Wain, as well as other interesting people and events.

Pleasantly Surprised

I intentionally didn't see Role Models at Fantastic Fest once my source finally fessed up what it was. I hadn't been impressed enough with Rudd to stay up so late, and the trailers were a turn off. By sheer chance I caught it at Austin Film Festival and was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I liked the lack of oversentimentality usually thrown into a film with kids and base humor, as well as respecting the groups in it. LARPers are usually easy marks for mockery, I was impressed Wain handled it so well.

I agree on Repo; for me, it was just this side of a vanity piece. It wasn't bad, but ultimately unsatisfying. It's definitely a microniche film, for the kohl and corset crowd. And I actually loved Dr. Horrible. :D