When the smokes clears this film stands I, Challenger

I, CHALLENGER

(COMEDY)

SYNOPSIS: Sid, a perennial kid who spends his days playing video games and selling weed, is about to be evicted. Desperate to change his life, he enlists his gaming buddy Logan in a dangerous scheme involving the livestream of a self-burial video.

CO-WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY PAUL BOYD, CO-WRITTEN BY KARA SCOBEY BROWN STARRING JAMES DUVAL, COY STEWART, AND TINA MAJORIN

WHAT THIS FILM DOES WELL: While the conventions of a stoner comedy present itself and do so early on, and that's okay and actually I found quite funny. Then out of nowhere, something magical happens. So the first thing I will say is stay with it because what end up getting is a heartfelt coming together of a cast of unique characters amidst a pseudo social commentary that speaks to the relevancy of today and tomorrow. Now get me wrong, this movie is absurd in concept and certainly leans on the stoner comedy genre and does so in a playful, fun and funny manner. Again nothing wrong with that if that's what comes of it, plenty of this genre has done that for me in the past. However its that smile, that nodding, that incredible sense of community and camaraderie that hit me the hardest and right when I was not ready for it to happen. James Duval who you all would know from many an indie movie, Donnie Darko as Frank, SLC Punk as Johnny The Mod, and the Gregg Araki trilogy The Doom Generation, Nowhere, and Totally Fucked Up, carries this movie with one of the smartest choices I have seen an actor make in sometime. Sid is one of the best natural arcs of a character I have seen on a screen and Duval's choice to ride out the wave instead of upset the applecart really hones you in and give you direction of which way you want to feel about Sid, to point of utter surprise even. That naturalistic arc was also tailored so nicely in the words of a great script and nurtured even more intelligently by director Paul Boyd. Paul's maestro strokes of expanding the frames and keeping static long master shots and letting the actors roam instead of frenetic and drastic camera cuts that often accompany a movie like this is so, so smart. What it does for an audience member is lead to an engagement level that absorbs the opportunities for the dialogue and nice reaction shots to really not only hit their mark but feel authentic. Another aspect that coincides with Duval and Boyd's choices are the turns of the many characters Sid encounters. All of them have fun moments and the main compatriots like Vanessa played brilliantly by Tina Majorino in a rescuing hero role that doesn't involve a tropey slant, and Logan played by Coy Stewart who just might have the funniest setups for Sid and plays his sidekick and confidant in a much needed more trope like sense. Then there are the fun scenes with Margaret Cho, Gerry Bednob as Vinny, and MC Lyte as Diane, Logan's Mother. All of this seems outlandish because it is but what's wrong with having a great time while thinking and feeling? If you really looked at it that's what a film should do be an I, Challenger. 

WHY YOU SHOULD CHAMPION THIS FILM: I don't know with how 2022 has started if their a more fun way to spend 90 minutes right now. This film should make you laugh if you love good stoner comedies but if you don't really care for the genre it should also surprise you if you just stay with it and let it. There is something to be said about being entertained and feeling something at the end of that entertainment. The heart in this movie will overtake you at same point and in doing so, even with a ridiculous premise, I just don't know how you wouldn't want to smile. If you need that feeling, this movie just might be perfect for you. 

YOU WILL BE A FAN OF THIS MOVIE IF YOU ARE A FAN OF: Pineapple Express, The Big Lebowski, How High, and Friday

CHECK OUT GO INDIE NOW'S SPOTLIGHT EPISODE WITH FILMMAKER PAUL BOYD AND LEAD ACTOR JAMES DUVAL TALKING ABOUT I, CHALLENGER

YOU CAN SEE THIS FILM HERE