4 For Dinner
By John Oak Dalton • Mar 2nd, 2005 • Category: Comedy, HorrorThree twentysomething slackers are set to pop some bad 80s sci-fi into the VCR on a Friday night when an argumentative Goth convinces them to try to put on a New-Agey self-help quasi-séance that she learned of in a mysterious book. As one might suspect, they should have stuck to the VCR, and in the morning they find themselves reborn as traditional movie monsters, including a vampire, a zombie, and a werewolf. The foursome sets out to find the book’s reclusive author to try to learn what has happened to them, and learn more about themselves along the way.
Scott Klein’s 4 For Dinner is a pleasant hybrid of situation comedy and horror, held together by strong performances. Tyler Pierce is the titular ringleader, a goofy tech-nerd who pines for the “just friends” Goth, and gives a very polished performance. Jennifer Crane, as the Goth girl who wakes up on the undead side of Goth, is also very well-rounded, and the two play off each other well. Mike Burton as Pierce’s sardonic, hot-blooded roomie, and his stoner pal Qraig DeGroot, add color.
But the situation comedy flavor is a double-edged sword, as the production values are a little flat, especially with rather pedestrian lighting and shot selection. The location shooting is a bit of a letdown as well, especially an unconvincing bar backdrop and a denouement that takes place, somewhat inexplicably, in a community theater of sorts that one suspects was used more from convenience than for any resonance with the plot.
And although Klein’s script is brimming with unique ideas and some clever one-liners and riffs, the story suffers from some obtuse plot developments and unresolved elements, especially in a redundant office sequence at the feature’s opening that has no bearing on future events, and providing a satisfactory conclusion. I would like to see Klein tune his writer’s ear a bit as well, as many of his characters have a tendency to sound alike and speak in the same “voice.”
But the positives—especially strong performances and some clever ideas–outweigh the negatives—journeyman tech elements and some head-scratching plotting. 4 for Dinner has a light, fun vibe, likeable characters, and engaging situations, making it a notch above the standard microcinema fare.
Three stars.
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John Oak Dalton is a Community Television Station Manager by day, and a DIY acolyte by night. In the 80s he made Super-8 movies and his own basement mix tapes. In the 90s he hosted a cable-access show and made his own zines and minicomics. In the 21st Century he began working with grassroots video and microcinema and writing b-movies, and has more than a dozen projects on the shelf, on screen, in development, or in production.
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