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Starring:
  Alley Mills
  Colin Mochrie
  Kim Little
  Wil Wheaton
 

Directed by:
  David Michael Latt
 

Running Time:  86 minutes

Crave Factor

Overall Crave Factor

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Kim Little (“Diagnosis Murder”) stars as Jane, an unstable female version of “Being There”’s Chance The Gardener, whose life is so wrapped up in television that she imagines popular Jerry Springer clone “Gerry”, (David L. Lander aka “Squiggy” of “Laverne And Shirley”), to be her long-lost father. Desperate to rejoin him and leave the orbit of her agoraphobic, overprotective mother, (Alley Mills of “The Wonder Years”), she sets out on a quest to become any kind of sideshow freak that could conceivably land a guest spot on “Gerry”. Transvestites, aliens, serial killers and assorted weirdos of all stripes come and go during the course of Jane’s off-kilter Oz-like journey.”
-Wade Major, BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE

Movie Review

While I take definite issue with the comparisons to THE WIZARD OF OZ and BEING THERE in the synopsis from BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE, I have to admit that there are worst films to waste 90 minutes on.

This is a rough-quality, cheezeball, tongue-in-cheek comedy. Total suspension of disbelief is required to get into the film at all. It is patently ridiculous from beginning to end, but in the most enjoyable way. This is the kind of crazy-ass comedy that plays late-night TV on hot summer nights, the kind of thing that would star a young Bill Murray or Chevy Chase lampooning TV shows and commercials. This is SCTV, KIDS IN THE HALL… This is SPACEBALLS on a shoestring budget.

A cavalcade of TV personalities make-up a Game-show dream cast, with everyone playing it completely to the hilt. From Alley Mills as a sexually frustrated, agoraphobic version of her WONDER YEARS mom, to the almighty Squiggy (David L. Landers) as trash talk show host Gerry. Keep your eyes open for two guys from CAROLINE IN THE CITY as transvestite hookers, Dustin Diamond as a rather hirsute Motel skank, Debra Wilson and Phil ‘I shot Marvin in the face!’ Lamarr, Michelle Phillips and Ted Shackleford, Larry from THREE’S COMPANY, Marsha from THE BRADY BUNCH and yes, Winnie Cooper. All of them ham it up to the rafters, and every one of them comes across as totally insane.

The story follows young Jane White, as played by Kim Little, who is off on walkabout, looking for herself and the father she thinks she once had. After 20 years of hardcore TV viewing and no social interaction, Jane is a ridiculous stranger in a very strange land. Jane meets wacko after wacko, until she finds herself inexplicably entangled with a goofy young hipster in oversized braces (Wil Wheaton). After a further series of misadventures, and the severely unfunny demise of one character, Jane’s imaginary world comes to a screeching halt, but only momentarily, as this is a movie propelled by goofiness.

The high point is Colin Mochrie, super-Canadian jack-of-all-trades, who provides the lone voice of reason in this Looney Tunes world. Despite his characters penchance for weird transsexual sex and bondage gear, Mochrie is the sole link to reality in this insane kaleidoscope of rampant ADD inspired madness.

JANE WHITE IS SICK AND TWISTED is, indeed, quite sick and twisted, but in a fun and good natured way. This isn’t going to be for everyone, and you have to be in the right mood to deal with the silliness, but invite over a few friends, have a few brewski and enjoy a little slice of ham and cheese loaf with the wacky inhabitants of this off-beat world.

Crave Factor – 7
While it is juvenile and silly, JANE WHITE is a fun frolic in DVD land.

Menu

A standard MTI menu, static background that is basically a mock-up of the DVD cover art. Selections on the screener are only PLAY FEATURE and TRAILER. The release version will have interactive menus, which will include CHAPTER SELECTION and SPECIAL FEATURE selections.

Crave Factor – N/A
I reserve judgment for the finished product.

Extras

While the sole extra on the screener is a rather cheapo trailer, the release version will have Audio commentary from Director and stars, a 30 minute featurette, deleted scenes, interviews, biographies, previews, games and more trailers.

Crave Factor – N/A
Again, nothing to be graded here, but it sounds like a full-boat.

Video

1.33:1 Fullscreen
This definitely looks low budget. The cinematography is fairly well orchestrated, but the equipment is sub-par, and the over-all effect is that this looks like it was shot on a VHS camcorder.

 

Crave Factor – 3
Poor quality, but the emphasis is on the characters and the story over the visuals.

Audio

2.0 Dolby Stereo
Again, this is Film School quality, but in terms of the content, there’s not much call for anything else. The whole film looks as though it was shot in a three-block area; sound was obviously NOT a major concern.

 

Crave Factor – 5
Passable, but not much of a workout for your system.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts

Something of a pop-culture CANDIDE, this film is low budget, low quality but high fun. This is a close cousin to goofy comedy classics like I’M GONNA GET YOU SUCKA, BRAIN CANDY and MORONS FROM OUTER SPACE.

+ Goofy, good-natured fun

- The non-existent budget shows in the picture and sound arenas