August at Twenty-Two

Grade: C-

I often wish I had seen The Room in its initial release, back when it was an under-the-radar indie film that we were supposed to take seriously. When the only good reviews it seemed to get were because of how unintentionally funny it was, creator Tommy Wiseau backpedaled and said it was meant to be a comedy all along. August at Twenty-Two will be the lowest budget, indiest of the indie movies I’ll see this year, if not beyond. It becomes obvious right away that production values are minimal. Though it’s under an hour and a half, sometimes it felt longer than Killers of the Flower Moon. Sometimes I thought we found our next The Room, and I could say I knew it when. And sometimes I could see glimpses of a potentially strong movie hiding inside.

Ali Edwards wrote the film and stars as Cal, a recent college graduate and aspiring actress in New York City, doing the never-ending audition thing. Her roommate and best friend is the flamboyant Bobby. At a party, Cal sees Jacob, an ex of hers, for the first time in a while. He has a girlfriend, Emily, a professional photographer. She forms a friendship with Cal, and maybe a little more, after a day of doing a photo shoot for her.

The main idea seems to be Cal trying to navigate her love life, as she peruses a few romantic avenues. As Cal, writer/star Ali Edwards’s performance is a very mixed bag. I couldn’t decide if I liked her as an actress, or thought she was melodramatic and soap operatic. It must take skill to play a character who puts on such a false front, and tries to always wear an Everything’s OK mask, so maybe I do think Edwards has talent and promise. Either way, I see potential, and she is a name I’ll keep an eye on. My favorite performance came from Lilli Kay as Emily. She was the most natural and real. Otherwise, there are moments of unintended laughter, particularly whenever there’s an argument, or when we finally do hear a score, and it sounds like an unused composition written for Napoleon Dynamite. Lots of alcohol intake happens, yet the actors never appear intoxicated. This ain’t exactly a Spielberg movie or Oppenheimer, y’all. Adjust your expectations if you see it.

I’m not trying to knock some up-and-coming filmmakers. Everybody starts somewhere, right? I’d say this to the cast and crew: congratulations on the movie. Keep doing your thing. That being said, and I hope this doesn’t sound terrible, but I’m looking forward to going back to a “real” movie. The kind I’m used to seeing. The kind I hope you’re involved with one day.

Grade: C-