SOMETHING

Written, Directed, Produced, and Edited by Mark Adams David - Chris Aytes
Gary - Sam Wright
Sharon - Koelsch
Kramen - Mark Adams

I know this is going to sound cliche, but Mark Adams' SOMETHING is truly something ...special, that is. You really need to see this movie to understand where it is I'm coming from. This is a micro-budget comedy that works without having to rely on lewd sex or gross-out vulgarity. Instead, it's the wit of the script and the sweetly absurd interaction between its characters that captivated me from beginning to end.

The story revolves around David, a young man suffering from amnesia found wondering the back roads of Kansas by Gary and Sharon, two reluctant bagmen for a would-be criminal mastermind named Kramen. Kramen is blackmailing Sharon into helping him break onto a nearby air force base in order to steal...something.

That "something" is just the MacGuffin to link the whimsical plotline from event to event. The story could be anything, it's really of secondary importance. The characters are the heart and soul SOMETHING, just as they should be with any comedy, and each one brings their own cartload of emotional baggage as they reach out for that missing "something" in their lives. Unbeknownst to them, that "something" is each other.

To share anything more is to spoil the surprise. Adam's relies heavily on irony to convey the film's humor, and cinematic irony works most effectively when it's completely unexpected and capricious in nature. At least it does for me. As Dr. Charles Derry used to tell me in those comedy classes, "comedy is subjective..and timing is everything."

Clocking in right at 2 hours, SOMETHING never overstays it's welcome. There's always something going on to hold the viewers interest, whether it be political discussions amongst the cast or gonzo paramilitary training to prepare for the actual break-in. While any number of scenes could have been trimmed, I'm glad Adam's let the movie run its natural course such as he did, these are characters that I couldn't watched for two hours longer and still couldn't have gotten enough of them. And that's the hallmark of any truly great movie.

Mark Adams