Straightman

Straightman
Ben Berkowitz
Sat 1/13 5:35pm, Mon 1/15 7:10pm
2000, 90 min, 16mm projected on Video

David and Jack (played by director Ben Berkowitz and his co-writer Ben Redgrave) are long-time, good-time buddies. David's a slovenly, overweight and obnoxious would-be comedian, prone to wise-cracks and misanthropy, but somehow manages to get laid with astonishing regularity. Jack, the quiet one, is in a crumbling live-in relationship with his girlfriend, but keeps his pal David company in his bar-trawling. When Jack's girlfriend leaves him, he and David move in together and face the realities of true friendship and love between a couple of "guys." Developed by the cast over a period of months using improvisational methods inspired by the great Mike Leigh, "Straightman" feels so authentic you'd think it was all done with hidden cameras, with the boring parts left out. It ain't pretty—it's a grungy, warts-and-all view of a couple of slobs and their low-rent Chicago lives-and-loves—but it plumbs the mysteries and complexities of male friendship with a courage and wit rarely seen in movies. Brutally frank, hilarious without a hint of cheap glibness, and sporting a terrific cast of local Chicago actors, "Straightman" gets it just right. ti

Contact 773 862 7569 www.benzfilm.com

preceded by:

The Manipulators
Clare E. Rojas & Andrew Jeffrey Wright
1999, 3 min, 16mm


	Straightman Ben Berkowitz Sat 1/13 5:35pm, Mon 1/15 7:10pm 2000, 90 min, 16mm projected on Video David and Jack (played by director Ben Berkowitz and his co-writer Ben Redgrave) are long-time, good-time buddies. David's a slovenly, overweight and obnoxious would-be comedian, prone to wise-cracks and misanthropy, but somehow manages to get laid with astonishing regularity. Jack, the quiet one, is in a crumbling live-in relationship with his girlfriend, but keeps his pal David company in his bar-trawling. When Jack's girlfriend leaves him, he and David move in together and face the realities of true friendship and love between a couple of "guys." Developed by the cast over a period of months using improvisational methods inspired by the great Mike Leigh, "Straightman" feels so authentic you'd think it was all done with hidden cameras, with the boring parts left out. It ain't pretty—it's a grungy, warts-and-all view of a couple of slobs and their low-rent Chicago lives-and-loves—but it plumbs the mysteries and complexities of male friendship with a courage and wit rarely seen in movies. Brutally frank, hilarious without a hint of cheap glibness, and sporting a terrific cast of local Chicago actors, "Straightman" gets it just right. ti Contact 773 862 7569 www.benzfilm.com preceded by: The Manipulators Clare E. Rojas & Andrew Jeffrey Wright 1999, 3 min, 16mm	With Eric Roberts attached, the Turkish guy immediately agrees to fund your movie. He's your new best friend. But he has some script ideas. If you tell him to fuck off... If you take his ideas... GO TO BEGINNING
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