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Rock 'n' comedy
A concert movie starring comedian Jim Breuer debuts at this year's TamBay Film and Video Festival.
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 4, 2002
TAMPA -- Comedian Jim Breuer, formerly of Palm Harbor and Saturday Night Live, will present the world premiere of his new concert movie Saturday at the second annual TamBay Film and Video Festival at Channelside Cinemas in Tampa.
Heavy Metal Comedy, a raucous blend of Breuer's standup material and 1980s-style rock 'n' roll, is one of 60 independently produced features, shorts, student films and documentaries slated for the festival beginning tonight and continuing through Sunday.
Tickets are $6.50 for each program, which typically includes at least two films, or $3.50 for students and seniors. Day passes are available for $10 that will allow access to any available program.
Many of the festival offerings are heartfelt projects that may never get an audience like this again. However, there's always a chance for moviegoers to luck upon the next big thing. The entire schedule and film descriptions are available online at www.tambayfilmfest.com.
Breuer's film will be screened Saturday at 8 p.m. with the star and director Adam Dubin attending.
"Coming home just makes it more nerve-wracking," said the 34-year-old comedian, who worked the local comedy club circuit a decade ago. Heavy Metal Comedy and a 48-minute documentary showing with it showcase his new approach to stage performance backed by a rock band.
"We're trying something new with standup, trying to give it a kick in the butt by bringing back, like, '80s metal concerts where you can go laugh and rock out," Breuer said. "We rehearse the daylights out of it so they'll know when to keep it down and when to kick it in."
Adam Dubin said bringing Heavy Metal Comedy to a small festival like TamBay can be an attention grabber for films that need it.
"In New York, it's tough to get an independent film noticed because there's so much stuff that comes out," said Dubin, creator of music videos for Metallica, the Beastie Boys and the Black Crowes.
"That's great for independent filmmakers like myself, but when you want to raise the level of notoriety about (a film) it's pretty tough. (TamBay) is a small festival, but it's a festival that wants to have us."
Nearly one-third of the movies available were produced by Florida filmmakers, including The Chad Effect (Saturday, 10:15 p.m.), a satire inspired by the 2000 presidential election confusion in south Florida, and We Believe (Saturday, 6 p.m.), a tribute to Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans suffering through another disappointing season.
Documentary topics range from the Alachua County farming family of Cowmen (part of a Saturday 2 p.m. short-film program) to the room-shaking voice of singer Mickey Champion in Champion Blues.
Two feature-length works previewed in advance are worth a peek. Thank You, Good Night (tonight at 10 p.m.; Sunday at 6:10 p.m.) is a lively tale of a mid-1990's grunge band ready to throw in the towel. What Matters Most (tonight at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 7:30 p.m.) is a sweetly distilled Romeo and Juliet-style drama set among Texas families.
Among short films, Bewitched: The Magic of Darrin Stephens (Saturday, 8 p.m.) sounds like a delight for the TV Land and Nick at Nite audience, a bogus biography of a beloved sitcom husband. Weeki Wachee Girls (Saturday, 12:10 p.m.), about two girls who fantasize about being mermaids at the attraction, was a crowd pleaser at the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
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