Morgan Spurlock in "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?"
(Credit: Sundance)
But all of that was forgotten by mid-afternoon when news spread via BlackBerry, text message and old fashioned word of mouth that actor Heath Ledger had died in New York at the age of 28. Ledger had been around for years now, but it seemed like his career was just starting to heat up. He deserved to win an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain" and his work as the Joker in this summer's "Batman Begins" sequel "The Dark Knight" remains hotly anticipated. He's gone much, much too soon.
Between this shocking news and last week's equally tragic but lower profile death of actor Brad Renfro, let's hope that some valuable lesson emerges from their loss.
Now let's dive in to more enjoyable matters—the day's screenings.
Morgan Spurlock's "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" has been a hot title since it was first conceived. With the Al Quaida leader's whereabouts still unknown, "Super Size Me" director Spurlock proclaimed he would search for bin Laden himself. The result is a slick, fast moving and incredibly empty exercise in self indulgence.
It's one thing for Spurlock to set himself up as the "star" of his documentaries, but he hits a new low here. What his wife's pregnancy has to do with Osama bin Laden is anyone's guess, but Spurlock devotes an unreasonable amount of screen time to just that. The rest of the film is a parade of cliches masquerading as important lessons: not all Muslims are terrorists, Americans are less popular overseas since the invasion of Iraq, etc.
Spurlock is clearly willing to do anything for a laugh, so next time he just needs to get it over with and make an out and out comedy.
From the ridiculous to the (almost) sublime, "Sugar" is the follow-up to "Half Nelson" from the team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. This unique and impressive story of a Dominican man who travels to middle America to play minor league baseball solidifies Boden and Fleck's position as important emerging filmmakers. It won't be an easy sell at the box office, but it's a terrific film.
Only the first half of that last statement applies to "Choke," an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's cult novel about sex addicts. There are some excellent performances—including Sam Rockwell in the lead role and Anjelica Huston as his dysfunctional mother—and several big laughs that make the film worth seeing, but actor-turned-director Clark Gregg ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") is in over his head with material that demands a far more visually dynamic approach than he can provide.
Short film director Brett Simon proves far more ambitious with his directorial debut, "Assassination of a High School President" but the wannabe film noir comedy never achieves its full potential. Reece Thompson was excellent in last year's Sundance premiere "Rocket Science," and he again demonstrates solid comedy chops and a likable screen presence as the teen detective at the heart of this film.
Mischa Barton (better than she ever was on "The O.C." and showing more skin to boot) and Bruce Willis (hamming it up as the school principal) add some star power, but the film isn't clever enough to stand out at a fest as busy as Sundance.
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