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Small Apartments

source: Small Apartments

You cannot set out to make a "cult film", that is something that just sort of happens. "Small Apartments" directed by Jonus Akerlund tells the story of Franklin Franklin who lives in a seedy apartment and for some reason just goes around in his underwear. His name is "Franklin Franklin" because that kind of sounds quirky like something that would make a good cult movie. Everything in this film is designed to make it live on as a cult movie. He is also bald which sort of gives him the look of an overgrown baby. For one reason or another the film starts out with Franklin in his apartment surrounded by a myriad of empty soda bottles. On the floor is the landlord and he is dead. That is another thing that filmmakers do when they want to make a quirky cult movie, just have somebody dead and the characters don't know what to do with the body. Usually it's a dead * and this time it is a dead landlord. I have never seen a movie that tries so hard to be a dark comedy / Cult film. It tries way too hard to be weird and its just too obvious. It just fails miserably, and it is not particularly funny either. For some reason Billy Crystal is in the film as a detective trying to find out just what happened to the landlord. Aside from Crystal the film also has James Caan in the cast. Caan plays another tenant of the seedy apartment and all his character does is yell at Franklin in two or three scenes, he literally does NOTHING else. I suppose there is a story behind the fact that Crystal and Caan are in this mess. Maybe they were doing somebody a favor I suppose. Padding out the cast is Johnny Knoxville as another tenant dressed in 80s punk rock fashion. Rosy Perez is also in it. The movie deals with these wacky characters in this apartment as the detective tries to get to the bottom of what happened. The problem with the characters is that they are not real people, they are "cult film characters". This is the kind of movie people might say they like hoping it might make them sound edgy or something. I have personally never even heard of this thing until I just happened to see it advertised on Amazon as I was shopping for groceries during the quarantine. Pass on this one.

This movie has quite a cast for a straight to DVD movie. And it's a bizarre black comedy, that has the right amount of bizarre and comedy to it with some serious situations. The plot revolves around a overweight and diabetic guy named Franklin Franklin(yeah two of the same name for his first and last name) that is bald, walks around in his underwear and isn't the brightest guy while also being addicted to a beverage called Moxie. But still is a likable dude that has dreams of going to Switzerland and has love for his brother Bernard who is the quick-witted one that writes to him. And when there is a dead landlord in his apartment the story takes off from there. With couple of other different and a bit bizarre characters getting involved. It's cool how all the character connect when it comes to the plot and the warped but not over the top interactions is amusing to listen to. It even goes into direction I wasn't really expecting close to the end. Overall this is one of the good black comedy to go straight to DVD. 8/10

The movie in question is a 2012 American black comedy directed by a famous video maker (Jonas Åkerlund) and tells the story of an odd obese Switzerland-fan (Franklin Franklin, distinguishably performed by Matt Lucas) who inadvertently kills his landlord. All the characters - in spite of their rank in society - are strange zanies, and even if briefly on screen, they are catchy thanks to good/distinctive actors such as James Caan, Johnny Knoxville, Billy Crystal, James Marsden, Peter Stormare, Amanda Plummer, Dolph Lundgren - first and foremost. Apart from crazy moments and depictions, the plot contains several "correct" views on love, friendship, family relations etc, making it hectic and uneven at times, and there are some ending predictability related to the protagonist and bad guys. But as the movie is not long (around 1,5 hours), it is still catchy to watch and you will have your laughs and chuckles.

This movie is weird and disturbing movie when it starts but by the end it proves true to the purpose it is intended to have. The lives of the residents of an apartment building change when the owner is accidentally killed by one of the inhabitant. It take a while to get the hang of the pulse of the movie and it requires a lot of patience. The main protagonist is a loner and a voyeur who misses his ill(mentally) brother from whom he gets his taped messages. Meanwhile he is trying to dispose off the dead body of the owner. You do not fall in love with its characters or empathize with them but it definitely scares you to see their lives and you pray not to end up like them. But there are few moments when you feel sad for the people portrayed who are stuck in their little world and have distant hopes of escape from it. This movie forces you to confront or at least acknowledge the alienation,apathy,and surrender of some in the modern society who live on it fringe with little expectation of any worthwhile impact on anyone's life other than their own. But still it leaves you with a nice little message about forgiveness , family and the meaning of a well lived life. You are not going to remember this movie for long but it's decently directed eerie movie for a select few who are patient enough to take a lesson home. PS: Watch at your own risk.Either you will hate it or you will applaud the efforts for such a real depiction of lives in small apartments!

What a fresh exciting and entertaining movie to have stumbled upon. I was stuck in a hotel room and having never heard of it, my interest was piqued once I saw James Marsden starring. Funnily enough he had starred in similar surprise movie, "Interstate 60", also well worth a watch. I can't grasp why the IMDb score is only 6.1. The story is an engaging, super black comedy. Acting is great, Matt Lucas is superb as Franklin Franklin, a slightly mentally challenged loner who longs for his much cooler brother's affection. Most of the humor stems from Franklin Franklins apparent lack of awareness of how the world works; probably having been previously sheltered from his now incarcerated brother (Marsden). The movie unflinchingly moves from sadness to hilarity and back in matters of minutes. I managed to catch this movie prior to seeing the trailer, which was a good idea. Having since seen the trailer, I think it is a real spoiler to where the film is going to take you. Much better to go into this one with out a clue about what will happen next. This gets an overwhelming yes from me and my partner.

This movie is not a traditional hero conquers oppressive forces finds love with an out of his league chic then acquires instant fame flick. From the beginning, seeing the main character, Franklin Franklin, how he dresses- various wigs and tight white under drawers (which is pretty much how I imagine all bloggers, except me, dress at home), it is clear that this movie is quite different. 75% of the film has the main character in those tight white under drawers. Not long after the opening credits, he has to dispose of a body, gets tricked by a mean teenage girl, and keeps blowing on an alp-horn when he needs to check out for a bit. There are many interesting aspects to this film, not the least of which is the fact that it is based on the winning novel of a three day novel writing contest. The performances of Matt Lucas, James Caan and the especially lovely toned-down Billy Crystal make this an extremely worth while watch or even a keeper.

This film is amazing. Don't let the fact that it is coming straight to DVD in many places put you off. Each actor was perfectly cast (in my opinion)... even Johnny Knoxville who I have never rated, or really thought of as an actor, was brilliant. Its a Dark Comedy that slowly unravels whilst keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time before ending perfectly. I did almost give this film 9 out of 10 but when I thought about it, I couldn't think of a single thing that would lose this film any marks.