Festival Genius Community

One of the beautiful things about America is that anyone is eligible to have a dysfunctional family -- regardless of race, class or economic status. There have been a lot of funny (and not so funny) comedies made about this topic... generating laughs out of all kinds of awkward situations. I think this one is among the best. It is hysterical and wicked. Yes, in America...even fallen heroes have some problems with their parents.

It would be easy to say after a couple minutes of watching this film that its only virtue is it's shock value.....after all, it's a jolt to the system (and frequently hilarious) hearing a female senior citizen engage in the frankest possible sexual conversations. But don't dismiss it. Watching this film through to the end starts to uncover more important ideas. As you watch Phone Sex Grandma tend to her mundane daily activities -- caring for her cats, making coffee, taking a piss, reading in the tub -- while tending to the unique needs of the humans on the other end of the line...you start to appreciate that beyond the voices on the phone, these are real people living real lives. It's a smaller version of a celebrity having their true lives exposed. In the same way it was once difficult to imagine Rush Limbaugh sitting in his underwear stoned off his gourd on Oxycontin... it would undoubtedly shock this woman's clients to peer into the window of her real life. Gives you something to think about the next time you listen to a radio talk show, or get a telemarketing call, or call a singles line...or whatever it is you do in your unadorned life.

I must admit I hadn't spent much time planning for the disposal of my remains before watching Lasting Images. This film takes a subject that might otherwise be depressing - what you want done with your dead body - and turns it into something hopeful and personal. The concept of "Green Burial" has been around for awhile, but as the world accelerates toward a more intense focus on carbon emissions, sustainable living and determining the most environmentally sensitive diaper...it's clear that what you decide to do with your remains will be your last opportunity to comment on the matter. Lasting Images shows in an inspiring way that there is no shortage of paths one can take to make that statement. Even if you don't come at this material from a "green" perspective, it's fascinating to learn from the film all the options available for one to create their own personal voyage into the atomic dustbin. You may not want to make a political statement with your decision. You may want to be incorporated into a work of art....or into an integral part of your favorite place.... Isn't being turned into a diamond and being shot into space much cooler than being laid out and buried in a steel box with a bunch of people you don't know? I guess that's for each of us to decide, and this film gets the gears turning.

Pirate Radio USA is a really cool film for anyone who 1) feels disgusted with the inept/corrupt federal governance of mass media communications OR 2) enjoys watching underdogs who stand for something sticking it to the man without regard for whether they land in jail or on someone's watch list OR 3) wants to know how to assemble a 4 watt transmitter, turn it on, and stay one step ahead of the cops. The history of the "illegal" radio movement is fascinating...and by definition fraught with peril. DJ Him and Her have been there all along on the front lines...and they are your (very humorous) guides to the whole story. You have not lived until you hear an FCC bureaucrat explain how a pirate radio station can bring down an airplane. Aside from the swashbuckling good humor, there is definitely a serious undertone here... What happens when a pirate radio station is shut down, even though it is the only source of breaking news (like a poison gas leak) for an immigrant community? What happens when police arrest pirate radio broadcasters covering a major political demonstration -- leaving the infotainment evening news as the only source of coverage? Truth is suppressed. Basic rights are undermined. Only the most powerful voices are heard. That is a bad thing. Free the Airwaves!