Director:
Sweat Robot
Studio/Production Company:
Sweaty Robot
Genre:
Comedy
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.sweatyrobot.com/hbhmwebsite
Score:
4.5/5
If, on the surface, “Happy Birthday Harris Malden” appears to be about a man who goes through life wearing a variety of painted on moustaches and/or beards it is largely because the film is, indeed, about a man with fake facial hair.
Written, produced, directed and starring the Philadelphia based collective Sweaty Robot
the film focuses on a Harris Malden (Nick Gregorio), young man who, as a result of a childhood tragedy, cannot grow facial hair so he simply paints or pastes a variety of moustaches and/or beards onto his face each day. It doesn’t take much more than Psychology 101 to figure out that Harris has never fully recovered from the incident and the facial hair is less about the outside of his head and everything to do with what is going on inside. Harris is a man-child whose delicate grasp on the world is supported, maybe enabled by, a loving circle of friends and relatives who, despite, their intense affection for him, have really done nothing to help him move on.
This magical world –also known as South Philly to some – however begins to unravel when Harris leaves the neighborhood unaccompanied for the first time and shows up in the architecture office of his best friend, next door neighbor Paul (Eric Levy) to apply for a job. When Paul’s girlfriend Susan (Brigitte Hagerman) later shows up at Harris’ birthday party uninvited and meets him for the first time, the world is exposed, almost like seeing the man behind the curtain in “The Wizard Of Oz” and, for the rest of the film, everyone has to grapple with the truth.
If the premise sounds like it could be the foundation for a pretentious art film it is because, in different hands, it might have been a pretentious art film and maybe that is one of the more subtle points Sweaty Robot is going for here by moving in the exact opposite direction, going for laughs and scoring in a big way – the film is consistently gut-busting, hilarious and even painfully funny at times.
Deftly balancing between wacky, almost absurdist humor and telling a genuinely solid narrative, the film is exquisitely produced despite a presumably meager budget proving once again that, a well-written screenplay in the hands of people who really know what they are doing (full disclosure: Gregorio is a former student of mine) can result in a film that is enormously successful both creatively and technically. It will be really fascinating to see what Sweat Robot (who also includes Ben Davidow, Matt Sanchez and Juan Cardarelli) comes up with next.
Thankfully avoiding “village idiot” and “wise fool” clichés to suggest that Harris is some sort of special being sent down to walk the earth and teach silly humans Big Lessons, “HBHM” shines in its simplicity, the characters really don’t need to learn big lessons about things they already know, they need to find the strength within themselves to move on, grow up and live life as best as they can. While, finding that inner power is primarily an individual endeavor, it sure helps to be surrounded by loving, supportive people and, at the heart (yes, for all the rampant silliness, there is a lot of heart) that is what the film is about.
Beyond the wildly original film itself, Sweat Robot team is to be congratulated for being amongst a group of other trailblazing filmmakers who are beginning to throw themselves head-first into a bold new distribution strategy, making the film available online rather than shooting for the traditional theatrical release model.
Happy Birthday, Harris Malden can be rented or purchased from the iTunes store or amazon.com, for $2.99 and $9.99, respectively. Go to happybirthdayharrismalden.com to purchase the DVD
Sweat Robot
Studio/Production Company:
Sweaty Robot
Genre:
Comedy
Length:
Feature
Website:
http://www.sweatyrobot.com/hbhmwebsite
Score:
4.5/5
If, on the surface, “Happy Birthday Harris Malden” appears to be about a man who goes through life wearing a variety of painted on moustaches and/or beards it is largely because the film is, indeed, about a man with fake facial hair.
Written, produced, directed and starring the Philadelphia based collective Sweaty Robot
the film focuses on a Harris Malden (Nick Gregorio), young man who, as a result of a childhood tragedy, cannot grow facial hair so he simply paints or pastes a variety of moustaches and/or beards onto his face each day. It doesn’t take much more than Psychology 101 to figure out that Harris has never fully recovered from the incident and the facial hair is less about the outside of his head and everything to do with what is going on inside. Harris is a man-child whose delicate grasp on the world is supported, maybe enabled by, a loving circle of friends and relatives who, despite, their intense affection for him, have really done nothing to help him move on.
This magical world –also known as South Philly to some – however begins to unravel when Harris leaves the neighborhood unaccompanied for the first time and shows up in the architecture office of his best friend, next door neighbor Paul (Eric Levy) to apply for a job. When Paul’s girlfriend Susan (Brigitte Hagerman) later shows up at Harris’ birthday party uninvited and meets him for the first time, the world is exposed, almost like seeing the man behind the curtain in “The Wizard Of Oz” and, for the rest of the film, everyone has to grapple with the truth.
If the premise sounds like it could be the foundation for a pretentious art film it is because, in different hands, it might have been a pretentious art film and maybe that is one of the more subtle points Sweaty Robot is going for here by moving in the exact opposite direction, going for laughs and scoring in a big way – the film is consistently gut-busting, hilarious and even painfully funny at times.
Deftly balancing between wacky, almost absurdist humor and telling a genuinely solid narrative, the film is exquisitely produced despite a presumably meager budget proving once again that, a well-written screenplay in the hands of people who really know what they are doing (full disclosure: Gregorio is a former student of mine) can result in a film that is enormously successful both creatively and technically. It will be really fascinating to see what Sweat Robot (who also includes Ben Davidow, Matt Sanchez and Juan Cardarelli) comes up with next.
Thankfully avoiding “village idiot” and “wise fool” clichés to suggest that Harris is some sort of special being sent down to walk the earth and teach silly humans Big Lessons, “HBHM” shines in its simplicity, the characters really don’t need to learn big lessons about things they already know, they need to find the strength within themselves to move on, grow up and live life as best as they can. While, finding that inner power is primarily an individual endeavor, it sure helps to be surrounded by loving, supportive people and, at the heart (yes, for all the rampant silliness, there is a lot of heart) that is what the film is about.
Beyond the wildly original film itself, Sweat Robot team is to be congratulated for being amongst a group of other trailblazing filmmakers who are beginning to throw themselves head-first into a bold new distribution strategy, making the film available online rather than shooting for the traditional theatrical release model.
Happy Birthday, Harris Malden can be rented or purchased from the iTunes store or amazon.com, for $2.99 and $9.99, respectively. Go to happybirthdayharrismalden.com to purchase the DVD
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