SXSW Review: Blue Like Jazz
However people decide they feel about the comparison about the similarity of Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas, if you watch Blue Like Jazz, there's certainly some validity to the argument that people in both cities are cut from the same cloth. Based on a novel of the same name, the movie Blue Like Jazz plays like the sort of coming-of-age tale that many sheltered adolescents no doubt experience when they first go off to college. It's the second novel from Donald Miller and is a collection of essays and personal thoughts written as he was experiencing college and learning more about God and nature.
As small-town Texas young adult Don (Marshall Allman) is choosing where to go to college, he learns that his mother has been having an affair with Don's friend, who's also the youth pastor at their church. This shock to the system leads Don to take his father up on his offer of free schooling at Reed College, one of the most liberal schools in the country. While there, he meets an unusual cast of characters who show him there's more to life than a strict Baptist upbringing, and he learns more about himself than he ever has.
What sounds like a bland plotline actually has a lot more to deliver that it appears. In addition to a very relatable story, it features a cast of characters that excel in their roles as people who've made Don re-examine the way he's lived his life through his upbringing. Tania Raymonde and Claire Holt play Lauryn and Penny, and they perform admirably in Blue Like Jazz. Another standout performance in the movie was that of Justin Welborn, who plays The Pope of Reed College.
Where the strength of the film lies is in how relatable it is, especially to many of us here in Austin. The story of a kid from a strictly religious upbringing all of a sudden having his beliefs come into question is told very organically and could easily substitute any belief, not just religion, into the subplot of the film. It's filled with incredibly funny and really heartfelt moments that make it the kind of film anyone can really enjoy.
The making of Blue Like Jazz has an interesting story -- it was one of 2010's most prestigious Kickstarter campaigns. Director Steve Taylor organized a campaign when funding for the film fell through, and with the backing of fans of the book raised almost triple what they were asking for on Kickstarter. He promised to personally call and thank everyone who donated at least $10 to the cause. He's about halfway done so far.
Austin/Texas connections: Lead actor Marshall Allman was born and raised in Austin, although he lives in Hollywood now. He graduated from Austin High School and has been acting since he was 17. In addition, the first part of Blue Like Jazz is set (if not shot) in a small Texas town.