|
|
 |
|
ROBERT N. ZAGONE'S "READ YOU LIKE A BOOK"  The new DVD version of the 2006 movie that few saw upon release. |
An indie film treasure
pops up in DVD release
of TheColumnists.com
One guilty pleasure many of us movie fans have developed since the advent of home video and the invention of the DVD is searching out rare treats in the "bargain bin" at the local video shop. I guess I'm the equivalent of one of those people who goes out every Saturday morning, looking for "good deals" in yard sales.
For instance, last week I found a brand new DVD of Richard Brooks' awesome "In Cold Blood" (1967) in a three-for-$12 sale at the video store. The other two I snapped up were Dan Harris' "Imaginary Heroes" (2004) and Hans Peter Moland's "The Beautiful Country" (2005), both from Sony Pictures Classics. Both are quality independent films that just weren't "commercial" enough to make any waves when they played briefly in theaters.
We used to call films like these "sleepers" because they remained pretty quiet in the marketplace until moviegoers discovered them and turned them into hits. Of course, some just keep on "sleeping" and nobody ever discovers them. That's the breaks of life for independent filmmakers.
But last week my online colleague Gerald Nachman tipped me to a film made by his friend Robert N. "Bob" Zagone, which was soon coming out on DVD. I know Zagone from my days as a TV columnist in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was always an impressive talent who worked in various capacities in Bay Area television and now has added independent feature filmmaking to his portfolio. Zagone graciously sent me a copy of the DVD of his film "Read You Like A Book," which is available this week at most of the mainstream online home video dealers.
As a feature film, "Read You Like A Book" slipped below nearly everybody's radar when first released in 2006, though there was some local interest in the Bay Area, where the story takes place and most of the filmmakers live.
Once I screened the movie, I could immediately see why "Read You Like A Book" didn't make a big splash: It's truly offbeat, has an unconventional storyline and doesn't have any "hot" box office names in the key roles. But I love this movie! So did my wife, who shares my enthusiasm for offbeat movies, especially if there's any hint of a romance in them.
It reminded me of several indie films for which I have great, long-lasting affection, among them Henry Jaglom's 1983 "Can She Bake A Cherry Pie?" featuring one of Karen Black's most eccentric performances; Gary Winick's 2002 "Tadpole" and Peter Hedges' 2003 "Pieces of April," all films that have the same inventive quality that reminds you you're watching something entirely fresh and new.
"Read You Like A Book" takes place entirely in a large book store in Berkeley, Calif. It's the kind of bookstore most readers love: Large and independent with lots of books you don't see anywhere else. Zagone, who directed, also worked on the script with his main writer, Jim Vaccaro. They've certainly captured the ambience of an anti-establishment book haven and its quirky customers and clerks.
The way the movie renders the denizens of a certain sub-culture reminded me of the very best films of the late Michael Ritchie, another Bay Area filmmaker. His "The Candidate" is the best of all movies about what it's like to be around somebody who's running for office because Ritchie captured the behind-scenes political crowd so perfectly. Same goes for his "Smile," the quintessential amateur beauty contest movie.
But there had to be a core storyline to tie all the little character vignettes together. I wish they'd picked something else, but what they picked is a "magic book" brought in for sale by a weird character played by Danny Glover, one of the two big star names associated with the movie. Glover has just a cameo role, but it's an important one because the book turns out to be a magnet for other story points.
Once you hold this ancient looking old book in your hand, you begin to trip out with visual scenes from your prior days in your life. You need to get by this silly business--and a second subplot about a "whistle blower" who has evidence of criminal misbehavior by a big corporation--and hides it in the bookshop. Once you kick those under the table, you're free to enjoy the colorful characters and the things they get into.
The main character is Dante (Tony Amendola), the book shop manager, who has a guilty secret from his past that haunts him. He also has an ex-girl friend, Zoe (Barbara Crampton), who doesn't know he's running the book shop until he catches her trying to have sex with a young guy she's picked up in the stacks. There's also Gina (Catalina Larranaga), a lonely, bookish young woman who's been shorted in the love department and desperately needs to meet someone worthy of her. Among the staff members are Norman (Ricardo Gil), a "little person" who's big on philosophical issues, and Marcia (Shaun Landry), a non-stop talker who's a movie nut and relates everything in life to scenes from her favorite flicks.
And then there's Kate, who's played by Karen Black, the other star "name" Zagone rounded up for the film. Black was an overwhelming force in the movies of the 1970s, turning in incandescent performances in offbeat and unusual films like "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces" and "Day of the Locust," making her the sort of Queen of the Indies. The part she plays in this movie is right from the Karen Black Character Cookbook, so I don't think I need to say more except that she's still a high energy actress who's never dull, even when gnawing on the scenery. She's no longer an ingenue, but I'm happy to report she's still in charge of any scene she's in.
Though I might carp about the unlikely turns the story takes, I'm not the least bothered by them because so much of the dialogue and so many of the scenes are just too good to be true. Tony Amendola creates a very likeable and fascinating character in Dante and when the movie was over, I wanted to see more of the guy.
The other real standout in the cast is Catalina Larranaga, who finally takes off her spectacles near the end of the movie and lets us see what a dynamite sexy lady she really is. (Little wonder. Her credits are loaded with soft core sex movies and if you Google her name, you can find websites where she's buff naked in all her glory.) Larranaga has genuine acting talent and her appeal in this movie is subtle as it should be for her character. Somebody needs to put this woman in lots more movies, so she can become the actress she was born to be.
Zagone clearly had some fun making the film, too. It's just loaded with tasty in-jokes that maybe only Bay Area people would pick up on. One good example: One of the menacing bad guys from the crooked corporation is played by Bob Sarlatte, one of San Francisco's most beloved stand-up comics.
And, oh, yes, you also will find our friend Gerald Nachman standing among the stacks, reading one of his own books, and trying to look natural about it. Well, that is natural for Nachman. He would be holding one of his own books if he were seen in any bookstore, hoping browsers would see it and get interested in buying one. But, then again, maybe he was waiting for that sexy Zoe to pick him up and take him back into the stacks for a quickie. Finding little gags like that is typical indie film fun.
Another thing about independent films is that you often find places where you recognize the impact of a threadbare budget or where you lust for just a little conventionalism where it's needed to keep you from being bored. But "Read You Like A Book" is never dull, never boring and I highly recommend it. If you're a reasonably normal person, you're going to find something to like in this clever little film.
I'm encouraged enough to send Bob Zagone this public message: Keep it up, pal. There just aren't enough smart people out there making indie films anymore. We need a new wave of John Cassavetes', Henry Jagloms and would be Robert Altmans. And you've got the talent to do it.
You can comment on this column online. Please address your message to either "The Editors" or Ron Miller. To send an email, click here and don't forget to mention Ron's name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
|
|
|
Archives |
|
|