Five Films That Slipped Through The Net

Turns out I was doing Hidden Gems columns 22 years ago. This is a feature I wrote for Total Film back in 1998. 

1) Retroactive (directed by Louis Morneau)

Who's In It? No Stars, Just Talent. Unless you count James Belushi and Frank Whaley.

What's It All About? Police psychologist Karen Warren (Kylie Travis) hitches a ride in the desert with -whoops!- Dangerous Psychopath Frank Lloyd (Belushi). When Lloyd shoots his unfaithful wife (DTV Superstar Shannon Whirry, keeping her clothes on for once), Karen flees in terror, only to run straight into a reclusive scientist's time-travel experiment and find herself back in Frank's car, with everyone still alive...

In a Nutshell: A perfect fusion of Groundhog Day and violent suspense-thriller, Retroactive grabs hold of its wacky premise with both hands and wrings maximum mileage out of it, as Karen's continual attempts to alter the events of the first half-hour spiral increasingly out of control.

Best bit: Playing "Spot M. Emmet Walsh". 

2) Waiting For Guffman (directed by Christopher Guest)

Who's In It? Christopher Guest (Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnell), Catherine O'Hara, Indie Queen Parker Posey.

What's It All About? Small-town impresario Corky McQueen (Guest) attempts to put on a show with the hopelessly inept local citizens, all in the hopes of impressing the eponymous Guffman - a New York theatre critic rumoured to be attending the opening night.

In a Nutshell: This is the Spinal Tap of Amateur Dramatics - a hilarious, if you will, mockumentary, much of it improvised by the actors themselves, and allowing for some to-camera 'interviews' with the characters which will have you laughing out loud.

Best Bit: The stage-struck locals earnestly explaining what they hope the show will do for their 'careers'. 

3) Lawn Dogs (directed by John Duigan (Sirens, The Year My Voice Broke))

Who's In It? Sam Rockwell (A Box of Moonlight), Mischa Barton (that rare breed - an appealing child actress), Kathleen Quinlan

What's It All About? Rockwell's Trent is an underachiever - a Lawn Dog who makes his living mowing lawns in a rich neighbourhood. He is befriended by Barton's Devon - a ten year old girl whose near-death from a heart-condition has left her with a horrible scar and parents who are too frightened to let her live a child's life.

In a Nutshell: This did, in fact have a cinema release, albeit one best categorised as "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". It's worth seeking out, however, as it's both quirky and touching, with a fairy-tale ending that makes you reassess what has gone before.

Best Bit: Devon explaining to Trent that her heart now goes 'Dee-dee-dum, dee-dee-dum'. 

4) Trigger Happy (directed by Larry Bishop)

Who's In It? Everybody: Richard Dreyfuss, Jeff Goldblum, Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Gregory Hines, even Burt Reynolds (pre-Boogie Nights comeback).

What's It All About? In an unnamed city and an unspecified decade with distinct 1940s overtones, Big Time Gangster Vic (Dreyfuss) is released from jail to find chaos reigning among his supposedly care-taking underlings: Byrne's "Brass Balls" Ben London fancies himself as the new boss and Goldblum's Mickey Holliday has been busy taking a bit too much care of Vic's wife (Barkin). Naturally, Vic is somewhat less than amused...

In a Nutshell: A real oddity - surely destined for cult status. There are several pleasures here, from the ensemble acting and oddball script, to the dreamlike atmosphere provided by the sets and lighting.

Best Bit: Byrne, clearly having way too much fun, yelling "I'm 'Brass Balls' Ben London and I'm inde-fucking-structible!" in his climactic scene. 

5) The Pall-bearer (directed by Matt Reeves)

Who's In It? David Schwimmer, Gwynneth Paltrow, Michael Rapaport, Barbara Hershey

What's It All About? Twenty-something slacker Tom Thompson (Schwimmer) is asked to give a eulogy for someone he can't remember from High School, even though the boy's glamourous and vampish mother (Hershey) insists he was her son's best friend.

In a Nutshell: Under-rated comedy which suffered from the Ross-from-Friends backlash on its initial release. Regardless of how annoying he is in Friends, Schwimmer is genuinely funny here, in a sort of slightly-tweaked Graduate for the 1990s.

Best Bit: The scenes with Schwimmer's mum, sure to hit home among Twentysomethings-Still-Living-With-Parents.