SLIFF Exclusive
Frank and Cindy writer/director G.J. Echternkamp with Filmizon’s Nikolai Adams
The closing picture of the St. Lawrence International Film Festival was G.J. Echternkamp’s Frank and Cindy; and it may have one of the more unusual pre-production tales to come out of Hollywood in recent history. Echternkamp, fresh out of film school, decided to record his mother and step-father, Cindy and Frank (Frank was part of the flash-in-the-pan 80’s rock band Oxo), for a year. His documentary was released in 2007 – which seems to make a proper end to the story. Yet, soon after, he was approached to write a screenplay based on the documentary. He agreed to the job and wrote a movie about his parents – cutting himself out of the story. The executives read the script and missed the humour that came out of the documentary setting. It was at this time that Echternkamp realized that he would have to rewrite the script, inserting himself as he made the documentary, much like in real life, to bring forward the comedic aspects that were found in the original piece. As things progressed, Echternkamp was also asked to direct the film himself – adding once again to the layer of meta found within the project. Imagine making a documentary about your parents, then writing a screenplay, directing and casting stand-ins for your family (while all of the filming actually takes place in the real home where you lived). It is a bizarre story to be sure – perhaps, the only way it could have become more outlandish is if Echternkamp had declared that all of the actors trying out for the part of himself were rubbish and that he would be playing the role himself.
Echternkamp does a brilliant job casting his parents. Frank is played by the superb Oliver Platt and Cindy is played by the excellent Rene Russo. He is played by Johnny Simmons.
The story follows GJ as he returns home to live with his parents after graduating from film school. He soon realizes that he should film their unusual relationship. Frank, a one-time/one-hit-wonder rock star, is now relegated to living in the basement with his music equipment, spewing eccentric and unusual dialogue, while his mother continues to create excuses about why her life has stalled. Much like any family, bizarre things are said, tensions rise and events occur, all of them recorded by GJ and his camera. I have always said that it is more difficult to write comedy than anything else, yet Echternkamp turns his life into a witty, humourous and engaging story that mixes great comedy with the drama that is found within each and every family. As the narrative progresses, GJ and Cindy convince Frank to return for a one night Oxo reunion performance to complete the documentary.
There is also a nice love story injected between GJ and Kate (Jane Levy). It is complex and real, which is impressive since it is the only part of the picture that is utter fiction. It never detracts from what is going on in the more prominent documentary story and adds to GJ’s storyline.
This is definitely one of the better comedies to come out in the past five years. Echternkamp skilfully directs us through his past experiences, capturing every funny, bizarre and dramatic moment along the way. The casting of Platt and Russo can only be called masterful. It is utterly believable to buy them as an eccentric married couple. Their dialogue, much of it lifted from the real life documentary, is outrageously entertaining. Simmons and Levy also give memorable performances as the on-again/off-again young couple in love.
Frank and Cindy should appeal to anyone who has had an unusual upbringing – generally, that should apply to almost everyone. Each family has its own eccentricities and Echternkamp makes it easy for us to relate. To quote Frank in the movie: “lead or follow or get the f*** out of the way!” So make sure to take the lead in seeing this excellent film.