Sundance Recap 2010

Growing up in Utah, and loving movies as much as I do, you'd think that I would've broken my Sundance virginity long before 2010, but it wasn't meant to be. However, I finally popped my film festival cherry this year (four times over). With that, here's my Sundance 2010 recap.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil may be 2010's Zombieland: a rare horror comedy that's actually funny. As with most good comedies, the plot is simple and the laughs are organic. Two hillbillies, Tucker & Dale (Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine), are mistaken as psychotic serial killers by a group of college kids on a weekend camping trip. Queue hilarity. The script is perfection for this type of comedy, but Tudyk and Labine really sell it. Their chemistry is palatable, and there's no doubt that these bumbling idiots were meant for each other. They're so good that one can only hope this successful pairing translates into a Tucker & Dale franchise. Grade: B+

Freedom Riders: Freedom Riders is the real story of America's true heroes who stood up and fought for the change they believed in. The documentary sheds new light on the courageous young men and women who rode buses across the southern United States and defied bigotry and the government to stand up against racial segregation. Unlike many documentaries, Freedom Riders shuns the use of a narrator, to the film's benefit, and lets the remarkable story sell itself. The documentary also disregards the legends of both John F. Kennedy Jr. and Martin Luther King Jr., and portrays them not as larger-than-life heroes, but as regular leaders thrust into the middle of a crisis. Freedom Riders is a film that every American should see, if only to remind us of our embarrassing past, and to ensure that history never repeats itself. Grade: A

The Kids Are All Right: The Kids Are All Right, written and directed by Lisa Chodlenko, couldn't come at a more perfect time. In 2010, when gay marriage is still one of the country's most hotly-debated topics, The Kids Are All Right proves that whether gay or straight, commitment and love trump a government's definition of family. Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) have been together for 18 years and have two children (Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson) from the same sperm donor. Their marriage has the same quirks as any other, but gets complicated when the kids seek out and bond with their biological father (Mark Ruffalo). Chodlenko's script is accessible and laugh-out-loud funny, and her direction is spot-on. The film is a crowd-pleaser. However, it's the two leading ladies that steal the show. The pairing is nothing short of sensational. Bening is irresistibly likable and Moore has never been more relatable. It's far too early for this kind of talk, but one of these women could (and should) finally walk away with her first Oscar statuette come 2011. The Kids Are All Right, is more than alright, it's relevant, heartfelt, witty, and fantastic. Grade: A

Splice: I wouldn't be surprised if Splice was the worst film to come from Sundance 2010. With names like Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, and Guillermo Del Toro, attached Splice should have been one of the Festival's biggest successes. However, the film does about everything wrong. The plot of this "horror" flick about a newly formed "alien" species is predictable and you can see the "twists" coming from a mile away. The acting is juvenile -- Polley, who brilliantly wrote and directed 2007's Away From Her, should consider staying behind the camera. Splice is so awful that this review doesn't warrant any more discussion, and I'll leave it at that. Grade: D