Film rating: 3.5/5
Walkouts: 0/5
Pretentious clapping at credits: 2/5
BPM sighting: No
Off-kilter with a refreshingly sly wink to the great outdoors (think Deliverance as psychotherapy), Champions sees actor David Wike in his directing debut. The result is a tight ensemble piece that takes a skewed view of a quarter-to-midlife crisis.
Seeking harmony in nature, three dysfunctional young men (played by Wikes, Kevin Corrigan and Ebon Moss Bachrach) head off for a weekend in the country to assist an eccentric uncle on his so-called farm. The only problem is the uncle runs his operation like a military manoeuvre where planting spinach beside bok choy is cause for civil war.
As these confused men spend more time together, tensions start to build. A young woman enters the picture, as does a wayward cop and a gender-bending farmer, and before long, the trio’s bucolic weekend starts to get a little challenging… and things just keep getting stranger and stranger.
As writer-director-actor, Wike has cooked up a spicy stew of eccentric characters who come alive through their loopy conversations and unique personality ticks and foibles.
The dodgy sound mix betrayed this film’s low budget but it was heartening to see such a solid, if unimaginative, film (shot on video). The story was a paint-by-numbers affair about some quirky-yet-likeable characters providing some laughs on the way to a happily-ever-after ending. A pleasant film.
GrodsThink Ep.29 (26/8/08)
