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| Warning: douchebags are closer than they appear. |
Hello my beloved Buckleheads. Today I'm taking a foray into independent waters with Drinking Games, directed by Ryan Gielen. It's based on an off-Broadway play called Dorm, which was written by Blake Merriman (who also plays Richard in Drinking Games). I want to make numerous references throughout this review to the cartoon Undergrads, but I'm not sure how many of you will know what I'm talking about. So instead, let's not waste any time, and get right into it.
it's the last night of the fall semester at the college, which means two things: most of the campus is empty due to students going home for vacation, and that on this night marks the traditional last-night campus party Snowmageddon. Campus resident Richard, however, doesn't want to be bothered. He just wants to finish a paper he's writing before his deadline passes. His friend and roommate Shawn want none of that though. Shawn is looking to party and hopefully lose his virginity, and he wants his buddy Richard to be in on the fun. Not the virginity losing though, that would just be weird.
In the middle of their conversation (literally) is Shawn's friend Noopi, who is lying unconscious on their floor after a previous session of heavy partying took it's toll on him. Noopi has a strange knack for appearing and disappearing at will, and somehow he managed to find his way into Richard and Shawn's room. Upon his awakening, Noopi immediately forces his will in the room, eventually getting a small party going despite Richards protests. Among the group is Melanie, who has a complicated relationship with Richard. During the course of the movie the two have a couple of back-and-forths, but nothing really comes of it. The end result I'll leave to you to watch and find out for yourselves.
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| THE SLEEPER HAS AWAKENED!!!! |
The night goes on, and Noopi continues to fuel the party scene in the room. He introduces drugs to said scene, and even goes out of the way to get the dorms RA out of the picture so the party can continue without interruption. As the drugs and alcohol flow, the atmosphere of the movie darkens some. And the more fucked up Noopi's brain gets, the more his true, nasty colors show. He has already ruined Richard's night, how much worse can he do to everyone else? Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out.
I must admit, I was a little thrown off with the synopsis I read for Drinking Games. I read two different descriptions, and both indicated possible murder, whether direct or indirect. And to be honest I never saw any real indication that anything like that was happening. There was one part late in the movie where something COULD have happened to someone, but it was never actually shown or confirmed so I'm not convinced anything death related happened. Drinking Games is labelled as a drama/thriller, but to me is was pretty much drama the whole way.
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| Note to self: Viagra supplies are low. |
However, that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. For the most part this movie was very well acted. And many of the line deliveries were just fantastic. One that immediately stands out in my mind as awesome is the story Shawn (played by Nick Vergara) told around the 9 minute mark. The way he told it was funny as shit. A few of the characters remind me of people I know/knew, so I found it easy to follow in their lives on that snowy night. Rob Bradford was very good as Noopi. Bradford played a very convincing drug and alcohol fueled scumbag/borderline rapist who, despite the description given, was also pretty funny here and there before his darker side took over later on.
If you're expecting anything exciting or significant to happen in this, you're out of luck. This movie is very character driven, with not a lot going on around them. Of course, it all takes place in a mostly abandoned dorm, so naturally you wouldn't expect much to happen anyway. So if you are into that sort of thing, and you spent time in a dorm or even just partied in a dorm before, you should definitely give Drinking Games a shot. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sudden urge to sharpen my beer pong skills.
Movie Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Thriller Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 for Drama)
-I'm Ken Bucklesworth, and you're not.
@KenBucklesworth, @BoonsBuckles
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