Traverse City Film Festival – Day 3 (Patton Oswalt, Paul Mazursky, Nazi Zombies)
July 31, 2009 by Jane Boursaw
I’m taking a little breather from the Traverse City Film Festival today to get caught up on a few things, like writing up reviews and notes for the movies I’ve seen so far.
Yesterday, I saw “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” and it was such a thrill to be in the presence of the great Paul Mazursky, who directed that film, as well as many other greats, including “An Unmarried Woman,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” and “Enemies: A Love Story.” Read some of Mazursky’s thoughts on filmmaking and working with stars like Natalie Wood and Elliott Gould here.
Last night, my son and I saw “Big Fan,” a tragicomedy starring Patton Oswalt as a guy with a major fan-crush on his favorite New York Giants player. But things turn dicey when he follows the player one night and events occur that puts his beloved team in serious jeopardy.
“Big Fan” was more dramatic than I anticipated – I thought it would be funnier – but it’s still a great movie and character study on obsessive sports fans. It also starred Kevin Corrigan, whom I just realized played the pivotal character of Finn Garrity in “Damages” last year. I covered that show for CliqueClack – read my reviews here.
Both Kevin Corrigan and Patton Oswalt (pictured) were present at the screening, with Oswalt answering most of the questions afterwards. He was hilarious! Among other things, he said, “Don’t tell anyone about Traverse City. You guys are in your own little magic bubble up here, with gentle cherry mist and fudge; do you have leprechauns massage your feet for you?" He said the laid-back vibe here is quite different from other festivals like Sundance, where it’s rush-rush-rush and “no oxygen.”
More after the jump, including Nazi Zombies…
Then we wandered downtown to the State Theatre and saw the midnight showing of “Dead Snow” a gore-tastic movie about Nazi Zombies terrorizing a group of college students at a remote cabin. Every time blood would spurt out of someone’s head or intestines would be yanked out of a body, the audience would groan and applaud wildly. It was a hoot. And the movie drew all sorts of people, including lots of skinheads and punks. Sitting next to me was a heavily pierced guy with a mohawk (he was very nice, though).
Tonight, I may try to get to “Outtakes from Bruno” and/or “Humpday.” This weekend, I’m looking forward to “Mike’s Surprise” (Michael Moore’s screening of some unknown film), as well as the 20th Anniversary showing of “Roger and Me” and some other films.
