1802 - Sex After Kids

Am I reviewing my own film?  No.  But I always do a write up following a first public screening, so here it is. 
I'd love to say that it was a long road to get this film here, but it wasn't really - not when you compare it to most films.  It was just a few days more than a year ago that I even decided that I wanted to make a film about this subject - and now here we are, a very successful world premiere under our belts, and we continue moving forward.
We had our World Premiere last Saturday at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival to a sold-out audience.  They actually had to turn people away, which is sad, but kind of awesome as well.  It's nice to be a part of something that people are really excited to see!  The audience had a great reaction and the room was full of laughter.  We had a great Q&A after the screening, and just a general good time over-all. 
In lieu of doing my own review I'm going to attach some comments that have been posted on Santa Barbara's site.  Here's the link to it and feel free to go and rank the film yourself: 
http://sbiff.festivalgenius.com/2013/films/sexafterkids_jeremylalonde_sbiff2013

Like LaLonde's previous film, this is a funny, yet mature and touching film that will undoubtedly nip and tug at some sort of core emotion in many people.

What a fantastic movie! Funny, edgy, raw and yet touching. My husband and I laughed until we cried. Jeremy Lalonde has taken an ensemble cast of extremely talented actors and actresses and made a gem of a movie!

So often in ensemble films, certain plot lines get pushed aside in favor of others, so it was great to see a movie where every family is given pretty much equal importance and screen time. Witty dialogue, likeable characters, and a realistic premise make for a feel good film.

Okay - enough self congratulations.  If you're in the southern states - we've still got two screenings this upcoming weekend in Santa Barbara - get your ass out!

1801 - My Awkward Sexual Adventure

I was really excited when I found out that this was also screening at SBIFF, but even more excited when I saw I'd be there for it on the same evening that it's stars and director were in attendance and excited that I got to get to know them a bit subsequently following the screening. But enough about me talking about me. 
Lovable loser Jordan (Jonas Chernick) is a terrible lover and his girlfriend decides that enough is enough.  He heads off to Toronto for business and ends up getting connected to the typical stripper with a heart of gold, but luckily for us this time it's played by the always enjoyable Emily Hampshire.  I made the remark that this would be a great double-bill beside my film SEX AFTER KIDS - and technically it was on the Saturday night of the festival.  There's a lot to like about this film - it's funny on a consistent basis and Chernick and Hampshire are dynamite together on screen.  Emily has this absolutely unique blend of nerd and sexy that really shines here.  She's the kind of girl who you want to pal around with, but probably can't help but be attracted to.  I don't want to give away anything in the story - especially since it's in theatres soon.  I had a couple very minor quibbles with the story, but not enough to really get into it here.  For a late-night comedy it does exactly as you need it to - it's fast, funny, and quite fresh.  Go see it because it's Canadian, but support it because it's pretty damn great on top of that!

1800 - Caesar Must Die

Another film I caught at the Santa Barbara Film Festival was this unique adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.  The backdrop is this - a high-security is putting on a production of Julius Caesar with it's inmates acting as the actors.  Through the course of the film we watch them rehearse, all leading up to the performance, and through all of that we get the actual play alongside the commentary of the prisoners as they find ways to relate to the material. 
It's a pretty unique idea, right?  Sadly it was too much in the middle for me.  I would have preferred if it was just Julius Caesar set in a men's prison, or if it was more about the prisoners putting on the play, but with some more personal b-story.  It met the ideas in the middle and I think, suffered for it.  I believe this film has actually been around for a few years at this point, and not sure how else one could see it.  If you're a big Shakespear nerd then you'll probably want to check this out just because.  Not sure I can highly recommend it to anyone outside of that circle.

1799 - Disconnect

A few days behind on this.  This was the opening night film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, of which I attended with my feature SEX AFTER KIDS.  Like our film it was an ensemble, unlike ours it was a heavy drama centered around the theme of... I guess, the internet, and how by being connected to this web we're disconnected from our humanity.  Pretty heavy stuff.  The material is intense and could have been melodramatic if not for a cast of extremely talented actors.  There's some great timely material, the most interesting being that of cyber-bullying, but it also extends to relationships in chat-rooms, identity theft, and cyber-sex.  Given that it's so heavy it was a surprising choice, to me, for an opening night film given that it's intended to create a tone for the festival - although perhaps that's exactly what they were going for.
Not sure when this is coming out otherwise, but if you like heavy human drama you'll probably dig this - if you prefer lighter fare this might just be a tad too intense for your liking.