“Arrested Soul” is a 12-minute vignette designed to sell a full-length screenplay written by George M. Kostuch, a one-time college football star whose sports career ended with a knee injury that lead to a 10-year drug binge and eventual arrest and imprisonment for cocaine possession. The dozen minutes here finds Kostuch (playing himself) alongside a fellow inmate (Tom Vick, excellent as an unrepentant redneck DWI convict) in a drug rehab program at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison in Louisiana. The program is basically a drab room where a drug counselor tries to bring the jailbird duo out of their respective addictions. During the session, several flashbacks occur with Kostuch engaging in cocaine-heavy partying with some joyfully undressed young ladies.
Admittedly, judging “Arrested Soul” is tough since it is clearly intended as an appetite tease for producers to gobble up a larger screenplay waiting off-camera. On its own, however, it provides evidence that Kostuch can create an intelligent screenplay and hold the camera’s attention with a natural, relaxed screen presence. Likewise, director Ross Guidici keeps the pace moving at a brisk pace, which is no mean feat as most of the 12 minutes is spent in the single set of the drug rehab room.
One little mistake is casting RuPaul Charles as the drug counselor. No, RuPaul is not dolled up in his catwalk finest…he plays it all-male and butch, or at least tries to (one line about going home to have sex with his wife offers some unintentional camp laughs). His miscasting throws the film off kilter, but mercifully the production is saved by the unexpected appearance of porno stars Brittany Andrews and Wendy Divine, who are perfectly cast as the clothing-free party girls from Kostuch’s snorting days. As they happily swing around in topless glee, Ms. Andrews and Ms. Divine together offer the four best reasons for anyone to check out “Arrested Soul.”
