This trailer sure seemed familiar when I popped it in the ol’ VCR and for good reason. I actually saw the entire film at the inaugeral — and only — 30th Parallel Film Festival a couple of years ago and had written a short review at that time. It’s a small world out there, friends. Send your tape to us and there’s no tellin’ what will happen. Here, then, is a little bonus coverage for director Joe Lamirand.
There are plenty of stories out there about those who, chasing their dream, flock to Hollywood and make it big in the movies. Yawn. But what about the overwhelming majority who not only don’t “make it big,” they don’t make it at all? Many of them return home broke, dejected and humiliated. Such is the story of Derek Anderson (Eric Hoffman) who sneaks back into Indianapolis, which is about as far from LA metaphorically-speaking as possible. Once back home, Derek must face up to the friends he snobbishly broke contact with and has to suck up to his smug once and future bosses at a pizza joint. Hoffman is weirdly compelling as the lanky lug Derek, trying to eke out an actor’s existence in local theater, commercials, infomercials, and as the star of a local no-budget indie where the director’s pride and joy is the big finale: an exploding phone booth. Quirky and odd, “The Talent” does an excellent job of depicting the actor’s everyman; a guy who didn’t quite make it.
