Though it puts me in the minority to say so, the successful independent films of the past dozen years have been pretty awful. For every great picture like Clerks, there's a vast number of unwatchable ones like The Good Girl, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Memento, Waking Life, and The Blair Witch Project. The talent behind My Big Fat Independent Movie realizes that just because a movie is independent and successful, it doesn't that the flick is any good. Taking a cue from the relatively recent hit parodies such as the Scary Movie franchise and Not Another Teen Movie, screenwriters Chris Gore (editor of Film Threat) and Adam Schwartz along with director Philip Zlotorynski have crafted an enjoyable, well cast, and occasionally hilarious spoof of most of (if not all) the indies of the 1990s and 2000s so far. Some of the best material comes from the Pulp Fiction and Reservior Dogs jabs, but where 'Independent Movie' really hits gold with its low brow, bluer than blue humor. It's very easy to make a jokes about excrement and sex. It takes certain skill to make the joke actually funny without seeming unnecessary. Finally, a comedy that knows exactly how to use its raunchiness correctly. None of that American Pie "let's throw it in there to meet a running time" found here. However, like with most spoofs, 'Independent Movie' runs pretty thin by the hour mark. Once the final act begins, the laughs become almost nonexistent. For that, I can only recommend the R-rated version as a rental. The unrated version may be slightly better. 6/10
Review of My Big Fat Independent Movie
