SXSW Review Cyrus
Director: Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass Headliners 92 minutes
Synopsis With John's social life at a standstill and his ex-wife about to get remarried, a down on his luck divorcee finally meets the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has another man in her life - her son. Written and directed by Jay & Mark Duplass, the iconoclastic filmmaking team behind Sundance Film Festival favorite THE PUFFY CHAIR, CYRUS takes an insightful, funny and sometimes heartbreaking look at love and family in contemporary Los Angeles.
Director Bio After a series of Sundance shorts in 2003/2004, JAY & MARK DUPLASS premiered their first feature 'The Puffy Chair' at Sundance in 2005, nominated for two Spirit Awards and won Emerging Vision Award at the SXSW Film Festival. Their second effort 'Baghead' played the 2008 Sundance and Tribeca film festivals. They will next direct "Jeff, Who Lives At Home.' In development is 'Table 19' with 21 Laps.
WHO'S IT FOR? If you like the Duplass brothers' previous work, then you'll be right at home. John C. Reilly fans will love this. Keep in mind, it's a dry comedy. This isn't slapstick.
OVERALL
John thought he hit the jackpot with Molly. That is until he meets Cyrus, who is a socially stunted 22-year-old boy. Cyrus doesn't want to stray far from his mom, but don't worry there's nothing sexual about this thing. This is normally the point in a film where Cyrus and John keep trying to one-up each other, winning Molly's affection and making the other look like a fool. Cyrus doesn't turn wacky. It actually tries to take this subject and make it as real as possible. I say as real as possible because after all, how can we actually believe someone like Molly could fall for someone like John. John is a drunk trainwreck. Molly is into him. Sure, once we realize she also care for someone like Cyrus, it makes a little sense that she would be into John. Otherwise, we'll just call that movie magic. I think the biggest compliment I have for this film is the well-place cursing. The swear words actually pack a punch, both comically and dramatically. That's rare. It's a dramatic take on a normally comedic idea.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10