With South by Southwest now over, there's a renewed interest in many independent film favorites that have been riding the festival circuit, hoping to find distribution or generate buzz. The following are four film festival favorites finally seeing theatrical releases worth checking out this spring.
""Saturday Night""
Ever wonder how the cast and crew of ""Saturday Night Live"" manages to produce and perform a live sketch comedy show with less than a week of preparation? James Franco's documentary ""Saturday Night"" promises to document the process. The project began as a seven-minute short on the daily life of ""SNL"" cast member Bill Hader for Franco's NYU film class and evolved into an in-depth feature-length look at the inner-workings of ""SNL."" What truly imbues ""Saturday Night"" with potential is that the notoriously private Lorne Michaels has given Franco unprecedented access to every facet of the show. Is there anything that Franco can't accomplish? The film screened to positive reviews at both the Tribeca Film Festival and South by Southwest before being picked up for distribution by Oscilloscope. It will finally see a limited run in May, undoubtedly thanks to Franco's Oscar nod and burgeoning popularity in the two years since he made the film.
""Exporting Raymond""
I saw this documentary at a special one-off screening over spring break, and it's hilarious. ""Exporting Raymond"" has paid its dues on the festival circuit, having screened at 11 festivals and winning audience awards at both the 2010 Austin Film Festival and the Hatch Festival. You don't have to be a fan of ""Everybody Loves Raymond"" to enjoy ""Exporting Raymond"" as the humor has more to do with culture shock than the show itself. The documentary depicts sitcom writer Phil Rosenthal, best known for creating ""Everybody Loves Raymond,"" in his attempt to produce a Russian version of the show in Moscow. The film is without a doubt a crowd pleaser, but doesn't hold up quite as well under critical scrutiny. Rosenthal's hand, as both director and star, can be a bit too apparent at times in its attempt to shape and direct the narrative. However, as a non-fiction comedy, the film is more than funny enough to make up for its documentary shortfalls. ""Exporting Raymond"" will begin a limited theatrical release on April 29.
""The Beaver""
After enduring an uncertain future following Mel Gibson's fall from grace, ""The Beaver"" finally received its shot at the silver screen at this year's South by Southwest festival where it opened to positive reviews and garnered a healthy 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by and featuring Jodie Foster, ""The Beaver"" follows Mel Gibson as the depressed CEO of a failing toy company who begins to let the persona of an Australian beaver hand puppet speak for him in an attempt to get his life back together. The film also features Anton Yelchin (""Star Trek"") as Gibson's son and Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence (""Winter's Bone"") as the high school valedictorian he is pursuing. Between the dark and dreary ""Winter's Bone,"" the angst-ridden-yet-undeniably-sweet ""Like Crazy"", and now in the whimsical-yet-realist ""The Beaver,"" Lawrence has certainly proven her indie-movie chops. Gibson's fantastic performance may be the heart-and-soul of ""The Beaver"" but Lawrence is certainly the one to watch. Summit Entertainment will be releasing ""The Beaver"" in theaters May 6.
""Bridesmaids""
Director Paul Feig and executive producer Judd Apatow—the team that brought us the critically acclaimed TV series ""Freaks and Geeks""—have come together once again for ""Bridesmaids"" with a script written by ""Saturday Night Live""'s Kristin Wiig. The film stars Wiig as Annie, the dysfunctional maid-of-honor for her best friend (Maya Rudolph) who must help plan a wedding while her own life is falling apart. The film was well received at South by Southwest this year, and reviewers so far have praised it for stepping outside of the conventions of the ""chick flick"" genre and adopting Judd Apatow's traditional brand of R-rated raunchy humor to fit a female cast. While having Apatow as executive producer virtually guaranteed distribution, ""Bridesmaids"" was nonetheless an indie production—a joint venture between Relativity Media and Apatow Productions. Universal will release it in May.
Lucky for us, WUD Film will be hosting a sneak preview screening of ""Bridesmaids,"" Wednesday, April 13th at 7 p.m. in the Play Circle at Memorial Union. If you'd like David to save you a seat, he can't, but you can email him at dcottrell@wisc.edu to try anyway.
