“Everybody’s Got One” is an in your face, do it yourself indie film from writer/director Garth Donovan. The story centers on Garth and his cockeyed attempts to get his screenplay read by local celebrity screenwriter, Mike Judge (no, not the “Beavis and Butthead”/”King of the Hill” Judge). It’s a common tale in the world of film as we are all looking for that one little break. But there’s a catch here, Garth is fairly talentless and totally insane. He’s also apparently a sociopath and is totally obsessive.
One reason this film works because you really aren’t sure what’s real and what’s not at different times. The characters all use the actors real names and there’s some funky VHS interview footage that lends itself to the realism. There’s also clips of various (bad) films Donovan did as a youngster and former friends commenting on his passion for celebrity. When it’s all said and done, I think I’d prefer NOT to know what the real representation of Garth Donovan was or how far he’s willing to go.
He does go far in this film as he locks himself in his room, starving himself in order to stay hungry and finish his script. He hallucinates. He shaves himself…all over. He does other things that I don’t want to give away, or really think about again. Garth also takes a lot of his frustrations out on his poor sister Savann who, in the end, rings true of everyone’s younger sister and the feuds that erupt when you live at home too long.
Granted, the film does drag a little bit in the middle and the tension provided by Garth’s craziness either levels out or we get used to it. The film also borrows a little too heavily from Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy” as Donovan and fellow nut-job Erica Morales pursue screenwriter Judge with reckless abandon. Still, you gotta give it up for Donovan and what he’s willing to put up there on the screen. Donovan also apparently funded this film by recycling aluminum cans. I really think it’s tough to fail when you have the heart that Donovan has.
In the end, “Everybody’s Got One” makes a funny statement about celebrity and also about all the so-called experts in the field of film. The best advice is gained from the making of this film: Be passionate about your project and just get out there and do it, no matter what people say.
