Rid of Me by director/writer James Westby (Film Geek, The Auteur) tells the tale of Meris (Katie O’Grady) and Mitch (John Keyser); newlyweds who move back to Mitch’s hometown in Oregon. When Meris has trouble fitting in with his friends, a series of terribly awkward and hilarious situations occur.
Mostly everyone has found themselves in a situation where you felt you didn’t fit. Katie O’Grady (Management) as Meris is both sad and hopeful. We see her as someone we can relate to, and we have no idea what she will do next. I loved the character and am looking forward to seeing what O’Grady will do next. She seems to have a similarity to Kristin Wiig in that she can pull off hilarity as well as drama.
Meris’ co-worker and co-hort, Trudy, is entertainingly played by Orianna Herrman. She introduces Meris to a side of herself that she didn’t know existed and opens her up to a whole new world. Even though the tough and mean character of Trudy has been done over and over again, Herrman manages to show a sweet side and make her more of a person rather than a charactature.
Mitch’s friends were a little over-the-top with their acting and went a little too far with their snobbishness, but it did illustrate the point rather well. There are people like that in the world and it was frighteningly accurate.
Although I enjoyed seeing Theresa Russell (Black Widow), it was basically a cameo role and was completely unnecessary. Art Alexakis (of Everclear) was however surprisingly quiet and understated and fit the role rather well.
This is exactly the type of movie that I expected to see at the Tribeca Film Festival. It’s got non-mainstream actors and an off-the-wall story. There are a lot of unnecessary zooms, but I actually found it to be quite hilarious in a purposely good way. The sound is raw, the lighting is natural, but if you can get over that, it’s quite fun.
Rid of Me is playing at the Tribeca Film Festival Monday 4/25 and Wednesday 4/27.
Rating: A truly enjoyable indie black comedy. 7/10
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