Drool is one of those films that slowly grows on you as you're watching it. At first I wasn't sure if I would like it, but by the end, I was completely won over by its darkly comic script and wonderful performances.
Written and directed by Nancy Kissam, the movie starts out as a dysfunctional family drama with housewife and mother Anora Fleece (Laura Harring) stuck in an abusive marriage in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Her husband, Cheb (Oded Fehr), is a nasty asshole, and her kids, 15-year-old Tabby (Ashley Duggan Smith) and 13-year-old Little Pete (Christopher Newhouse), don't respect her. However, once Anora becomes friends her new neighbor, the sassy Imogene Cochran (Jill Marie Jones), the film begins to lighten up--especially after Cheb ends up dead. The two lovely ladies then pack up the kids in Imogene's purple Kathy K. Cosmetics car, toss the body in the trunk, and take off on a cross-country road trip to Savannah, Georgia, to bury Cheb. Drool now becomes a lesbian Thelma & Louise--with children. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was originally interested in seeing the film because of Harring, whom I fondly remember as Paula Stevens on the daytime soap, Sunset Beach, and in David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. So it's nice to see her again in a worthy role, and she's very good as Anora. Smith and Newhouse are also both excellent as the moody Tabby and doll-loving Little Pete, while Fehr is quite effective as the scary Cheb, whose illuminating scene with his boss adds an unexpected layer to his character. And actress Ruthie Austin's amusing performance later in the movie is a hoot. But the real star of Drool is Jones, whose no-nonsense Imogene takes Anora and her family under her wing and helps them all begin a new and better life. She's absolutely fabulous, and she and Harring have great chemistry together.
At one point in the film, Tabby snarkily asks, "What is this? An after school fucking special?" It's a funny line--and the movie does feature young teenagers in dramatic situations--but Drool is more of a dark romantic comedy with a wicked sense of humor. And by the time its closing credits roll, you might just feel like I did--wishing I could go for another spin in Imogene's Kathy K. car.
Show time: 7 pm, Friday, November 13, at Film Row Cinema (1104 S. Wabash) Running time: 85 minutes Website:www.uploadfilms.com
For a complete schedule of films and events at Reeling 2009: The 28th Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival (which runs through November 15), go to www.reelingfilmfestival.org. You can purchase tickets either by phone (773-293-1447), online, or in person at Chicago Filmmakers (5243 N. Clark).
Category: film festival, film festivalDrool, DroolMovies, Movieslesbian, lesbianLGBT, LGBTLaura Harring, Laura HarringReeling 2009, Reeling 2009Jill Marie Jones, Jill Marie Jones
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