From Dany Zuhlke and Jeremy Stewart, Dipsomaniac is the story of two best friends, Hal (Danny Zuhlke) and Tim (Ben Rosenthal), who rent a party bus for Tim’s 27th birthday.
Tim arrives first and is greeted by their driver, Raine (Sue Shaheen). When Hal arrives, it becomes instantly apparent that he is the party animal, and Tim is merely along for the ride. The night’s itinerary includes strippers, booze, copious amounts of drugs, and, in the end, a bus full of guests that Tim doesn’t know. Tim’s clearly not having a good time, and Hal is there to cheer him up in all the wrong ways.
“Hal is there to cheer him up in all the wrong ways.”
Dipsomaniac is a poignant film about friendship and regrets in life. For Tim, it’s the regret that he could have done more to keep his best friend from walking down the wrong road in life and that maybe he should have tried harder for his friend.
I’m assuming a lot here. Yet, for writer Zuhlke, Dipsomaniac feels very personal and dances between Tim’s memory and reality. His heart is all over the story. It’s as if film was the only way to express his feelings of loss. Both Zuhlke and Rosenthal give the perfect performances to carry the story’s emotional weight, and their uncommon use of special effects at the end hammers in the point beautifully.
"…feels very personal and dances between Tim's memory and reality."
