Things seem to be going pretty well for me. I have gotten a little bit of financial aid. The only problem with that it involves a banking conglomerate that does not have an office in Champaign. By the time I am off from work and clear of any immediate responsibilities, there are very few things of interest in Bloomington/Normal.
Only a few weeks of trips to go. At least I can claim it was not charity. I am putting in the miles.
And who knows, I may be able to send it all back. It was a good week of interviews, advancing to the third stage in one of them. This week, I have got a good amount of work at the retailer and two in person interviews. The only thing my success will cost me is my sweet mustache and excessive goatee. Their terminations will not be too hard to get over, but with 40 pounds I could lose, how will I define my chin?
Fortunately, I can work to find the bright side of any situation, so my girlfriend's 24-hours of sleeplessness on Thursday (was it inspired by concluding "Fight Club" or just her buyer's remorse on skipping a B1G1 deal at Rue 21?) allowed me to finally get comfortable enough to explore a feature about captivity, mental illness, and Teddy Ruxpin, "Brigsby Bear".
James Mitchum has been growing up in a post apocalyptic world where VHS is the only thing that allows him to escape the isolation. Every week, a new video is delivered to the bunker. It is the only TV show anyone born after the fall of man knows. At least that is how it was for James. Once Ted and April Mitchum are captured for abducting him as an infant, he is thrown into a world where nothing that he grew up knowing actually exists.
"Brigsby Bear Adventures" was a show produced and developed by Ted to serve as educational programming for his pseudo son, so in order to keep up the illusion of "Fallout: New Salt Lake", James was the only person to ever watch the show. It is the only thing James is interested in, but after his real father, Greg, takes him to see a movie, he discovers there is a way to still hold on to the world he knew, or at least grow beyond it. He is going to conclude the Brigsby story by writing and producing his own feature film.
Being James's only passion, people who try and get to know him cannot help but be mesmerized by his tales of a Chuck E. Cheese robot battling a bearded, cackling sun. His sister Aubrey's friends are all in on making this film and aspiring director Spencer uploading the old tapes to Youtube, the kidnap kid's popularity only grows. With some sympathetic former actors in the police department having access to the show's props, the only things that could possibly stop the film from wrapping up are his real parent's need for him to identify with them and his Google search history that raises a lot of red flags at Homeland Security.
Practical effects are a lost art. If their was ever a greater reason to destroy the Patriot Act, I would like to hear it.
At one hour and 37 minutes, "Brigsby Bear" is a work of genius. You get this convoluted story on top of actual moments of dealing with the trauma of being throw into a world that you have never known. The story is an inspiring and great tale about the need for compassion and understanding.
There are still some nits to pick. Imagining this film with a budget is something you cannot help but do. The feature does not offer anything in exceptional in terms of primary cast and direction. I think it is a bit too meta to direct the film like the characters directing their own film.
The lead and primary writer Kyle Mooney displays passion well, but the characters who turn out to be his adversaries are too restrained. Perhaps they could have been exaggerated in their efforts to make James face reality, but with Greg Kinnear, Mark Hamill, and all the adolescent characters shine when they get their chance, director Dave McCary's approach may have been appropriate.
With concise direction and writing, it is a shame that "Brigsby Bear" did not get a wider release. It is funny and clever and has a message that I think everyone could benefit from. The actors you came to see deliver and any one from Generation X to Millenials can appreciate the celebration of not quite ready for PBS productions.
My only other wish is that it was released eight years earlier when I started trying to promote "Main Event of the Dead" my low-budget, pro-wrestling themed zom-com. Feel free to request a treatment at russthebus07@gmail.com. It may have let more of my acquaintances giving my weird and passionate self a chance.
Lonely Island, are you interested in another sub $7 million project?
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http://www.brigsbybear.jp/
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