Play Hooky is about five students who skip school
to hang out and get stoned, and who end up in an abandoned building that isn’t
quite entirely abandoned. It opens with Brad, one of the students, fitting the
camera into his hat, and checking out his work in the mirror. As he walks
outside, he is teased by his sister, “Hey, nice hat, you look stupid.”
He is picked up by his cousin Lance, who tells him the plan is to get Rosie,
Megan and Judith, and that Meg’s unattractive friend Claire will likely also
have to tag along.
Claire is a little over-the-top awkward, announcing she
has to pee almost immediately upon getting into the car, then later saying she
has asthma, and then later still coming out of a bathroom with toilet paper
stuck to her shoe. It’s a bit of overkill, and is one of the weaker elements of
the film. But there are some truly good performances in this film, particularly
by Becky Byers as Megan. (By the way, Megan and Claire go to an all-girls
school, so Megan is wearing one of those little outfits, for those who are into
that sort of thing. And who isn’t?)
Judith’s introduction is probably the best. We see her
through the windshield and hear Lance say, “She’s going to start, I know it.”
And then she makes an irritated face as she comes toward the car. She’s cute,
but is angry because she thought the day’s adventure was going to be just her
and Lance. It’s actually a nice, believable, honest moment. And the others end
up leaving without her. This film has several honest moments, like after
Megan’s mother arrives home unexpectedly and the group has to make a hasty
retreat. Megan comes out just a bit later, and she is quiet and embarrassed.
It’s due at least in part to her excellent performance, but the moment
certainly has the ring of truth to it.
There are, of course, other moments that don’t quite ring
true, as when they engage in a brief conversation about illegal immigrants and
paying taxes. And you do get some jumpy camera work, and some shots where it’s
difficult to get one’s bearings, as the characters run through halls and such.
But that comes with the territory.
I like that this film doesn’t immediately go to the
abandoned building. These five people have several other ideas of where to
spend their day, but none of those quite works out. And I love the joy and
excitement in Megan’s voice as she tells the others the rumors she’s heard
about the abandoned hospital.
One thing that’s impressive about this film is that there
are long takes, which of course fit in with the nature of the method of
storytelling but which are difficult to do. Also, this film doesn’t seem to
cheat at all. That is, the characters don’t do anything unbelievable in order
to get the camera into a certain spot for a certain shot. It all feels quite
natural. And there is at least one unexpected turn.
By the way, there is a whole other scene after the
closing credits, so don’t turn off your DVD player prematurely. Although, it is
one of those scenes that tries to give a backstory to a villain (like in Rob
Zombie’s terrible remake of Halloween). And one other thing I should
note: There is an insert in the DVD case. Do not read it before watching the
movie, because it gives away what for me is the film’s most interesting
surprise.
Special Features
Play Hooky is the first movie in the Pollygrind
Presents series, and the DVD includes an introduction by Chad Freeman, who
mentions that fact. The introduction also mentions that the movie is by a
first-time director and was shot in seven days. Holy moly!
There are lots of other special features on the DVD,
including a commentary track by director/co-writer Frank Petrilli, DP/co-writer
Jason Chester, co-writer/actor Vincent Kulish, editor Peter Gould, actor Kim
Kleemichen and Pollygrind’s Chad Freeman. They happily point out some mistakes
and whatnot, including a crew member hiding behind a bush at one point. They
also talk about how the dialogue was improvised, which is impressive. They say
that the door which shut on its own in a shot actually did shut on its own,
which I’m not sure I believe. And they claim to have found the tricycle at the
location.
There are three bonus scenes, all of which are interviews
with characters who appear briefly in the film – Claire’s piano teacher,
Rosie’s friend, and Brad’s sister. There is also an alternate ending, which is
quite a bit different, as well as a promo spot for the film.
The bonus material includes two short films. The first, The
Bet, is an odd film directed by Michael Dunn. It has an interesting setup,
but becomes a bit repetitive. And the amount the bet is for comes straight out
of Trading Places. The second, Kuriosity Killz, is kind of a
mess. The perspective of the movie suddenly switches without explanation, and
then switches to a third perspective before switching back to the first. It’s a
movie that seems proud of its choices of odd angles and shots, but the choices
don’t seem to serve any purpose.
Play Hooky was directed by Frank S. Petrilli, and
is scheduled to be released on DVD on October 21, 2014 through Wild Eye
Releasing.
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