Artois The Goat (2009/IndiePix DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Feature: C
Off beat
comedies are not what they used to be.
Back in the 1970s, they were about taking risks and being different, but
now, they are about people trying to imitate The Coen Brothers and only the
Coens can be The Coens. Recently, goats
of all things have suddenly become fodder for being off beat and after the
complete failure of Men Who Stare At
Goats (reviewed elsewhere on this site), we get Artois The Goat (2009) by Cliff and Kyle Bogart.
Virgil
(Mark Scheibmeir) falls for Angie (Sydney Andrews) but also has become involved
in the world of cheese and the art of making the best possible goat cheese,
both of which are potentially life-changing.
When she decides to leave town, he is forced to choose and it will drive
him nuts figuring out which way to go.
The idea
could have been interesting, but obvious and we have seen so many films where
it is a “choose the girl or the dream” and this production is not clever enough
(and not through lack of ambition) of breaking the very old boy-meets-girl
formula leaving it to be eccentric for eccentric sake. Maybe you’ll watch it and go along with it
and enjoy it in the spirit it is made, but this one did not work for me, though
I am glad they tried. Otherwise, we’ve
seen this before.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot in digital High Definition video and has
softness throughout, color limits and a weak overall playback image, while the
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has some good sound, but also sonic limits that speak
of location audio issues and a mix that is very basic to go with the low
budget. The only extra is a trailer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
