Donald Cried, 2016.
Directed by Kris Avedisian
Starring Kris Avedisian, Jesse Wakeman, and Louisa Krause
SYNOPSIS:
With sudden passing of his grandmother, Peter Latang returns to his hometown and encounters his long lost, childhood friend, Donald Treebeck. What begins as a simple favor, turns into a long day’s journey into the past.
Growing out of high school simplicity into the struggling realities of adulthood isn’t always easy. For some it comes easy and for others not so much, while a few simply unfortunately never transition into a more mature state of mind. Such is the case with Donald (played by Kris Avedisian, also directing and serving as one of three writers on this full-length film adaptation of his own short) in Donald Cried, an outspoken, lonely, man-child who has not grown beyond the incomplex time of life when being irresponsible is acceptable.
The crushing part of Donald Cried is that although it is a comedy, and that much of the titular goofball’s antics are funny, it seems like we all know our own Donald in some form or another. Specifically speaking, the kind of person with their heart in the right place and the best of intentions, that for whatever reason (in this case it very well could be some form of mental retardation or learning disability), stagnates through life making no progression. If anything, they take all of their bad habits from unsophisticated years and continuously regress. Donald is that friend you’re admittedly glad you know as he will always have your back through thick and thin, who at the same time pity for hopelessly being paralyzed into nothingness. It’s not just that he will never amount to anything, but that he can’t even gain enough forward momentum to move out of his parent’s home.
This is naturally juxtaposed with Donald’s best friend Peter (Jesse Wakeman) returning to their small Rhode Island neighborhood to deal with the passing of his grandmother and her now unoccupied abode. Peter upped and got the hell out of dodge, presumably immediately after graduating, to depart what could easily be viewed as a toxic environment for progressing up life’s ladder. It’s easy to imagine the company of someone like Donald (along with a whole community of unambitious peers) holding him back. It’s nigh impossible to blame him for abruptly leaving everyone and everything behind, but at the same time it is evident that a piece of his real personality has been repressed. Although, keep in mind that it is not the only reason Peter skipped town, as part of the film deals with the concept of reinventing one’s self completely by starting over anew in a different environment. Essentially, both leading characters are quite defined beyond normal comedy expectations.
What ensues is indie modern-day mumble-core comedy shenanigans; best friends reunite and bring themselves back together as Peter learns a lesson or two about the consequences of shutting people out. Meanwhile, the same unfortunately cannot be said for Donald, who depressingly seems eternally stuck in his current static mental state and flat-out abusive living conditions. Credit Kris Avedisian for his sympathetic performance, as in less understanding hands the character could easily have come across as a dimwit deserving of his negative surroundings. Instead, audiences get a lovably bearded, deep-voiced doofus doing the common routine of “being stupid while attempting to do something good” but pleasantly with more depth than average.
Donald Cried does suffer from a predictable narrative structure and some repetitive moments (how many times can we watch Donald stall helping Peter out just to get involved in more random nonsense), and cramped cinematography utilizing overly annoying shaky camera work definitely send amateurish filmmaking vibes. However, there definitely seems that something is to be gained from each character perspective by fleshing out the short into a feature-length comedy (keep in mind, I haven’t actually seen it). There are also a few moments where jokes run on too long, sending the impression that the film alternatively is struggling to fill up 90 minutes worth of material. It’s a mixed bag.
Still, it’s a worthwhile film interested in providing actual character depth to their hijinx, and also features some absurdly hilarious dialogue (most notably an exchange where Donald reveals he tried to track down Peter via social media). It’s also worth noting that comedian/actor Danny McBride contributed to the movie as an executive producer, which is easy to understand considering the quality in both dialogue and storytelling. With that said, go find the Donald in your life and attempt, struggle as you might, getting the trajectory of the person’s life into a forward progression.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – Chief Film Critic of Flickering Myth. Check here for new reviews weekly, friend me on Facebook, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published March 1, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
