Douchebag

On the surface, Douchebag, this year’s low-budget Sundance gem, may seem like a parody of itself. It looks like some guys got access to camera equipment and made a small road-trip movie based around an unimportant journey. But Douchebag also has great performances that provide nuanced emotional scenes and near-absurd laugh-out-loud comedic moments, all held together by a less-is-more directing style that allows the film to showcase a great group of characters.

The film sounds like a caricature of what you would find at a film festival; a road trip movie about a vegetarian hipster and his estranged brother searching for something they never quite get to, stopping along the way to take in scenic shots of the California coast set to minimalist indie-music. But while some directors might beat you over the head with a maelstrom of angst and pretentiousness, Drake Doremus eases you into the film, and allows the absurdity of it all to slowly build, creating a film that is equal parts mockery and sincerity.

The film is very much tied to the mumblecore tradition: a micro-budget movie centered around essentially insignificant 20-something problems, but Doremus aims to create an easily accessible mumblecore movie and succeeds. The film, although focused nominally on an upcoming wedding, is very relatable, because it's really just about a guy trying to have some fun, and unintentionally bothering people along the way. Everyone has accidentally been a “douchebag” in their lives, but no one really sees how much they looked like a douchebag until they see Andrew Dickler’s Sam Nussbaum staring them in the face.

Although reliant on a more than competent supporting cast, the movie is really a one-man-show led by talented newcomer Andrew Dickler, who sneakily turns high-status diatribes into a showcase of comedic genius. His character, Sam Nussbaum, is a new incarnation of the guy you love to hate and it’s remarkable to see him break up a slow-paced scene with a quick barb the way he does.

Douchebag, which features characters on the eve of a marriage, doesn’t say much in the grander sense, but in doing so the film would lose what makes it unique. If early mumblecore films aimed to change the landscape of independent film, Douchebag just hangs out enjoying the view, and in the end becomes more a hallmark of the genre because of it.

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CelebSelect

Danielle Panabaker's Top Pop Picks
- Favorite Band: The Avett Brothers
  
  "I'm really into the Avett Brothers as of late."
- Favorite Book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  
  "My girlfriends are I - we are very nerdy. We started a book club and the first book we read was Gone Girl."
- Favorite New Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
  
  "I thought it was a great film and I thought Jennifer Lawrence was incredible, you know those angry tears, I've certainly experienced that."
Paul Van Dyk: Current Favorites
- School of the Seven Bells
  
  The New York-based band unites Benjamin Curtis of "Secret Machines" and Alejandra Deheza. Formed in 2007, the duo is named after a mythical South American pickpocket training academy of the same name.
- Linkin Park
  
  The Californian rock veterans have come a long way since 'Hybrid Theory.' Back now with their fifth studio album in over a decade, 'Living Things' is one of Paul Van Dyck's favorite albums this year.
- Jupiter Jones
  
  The German punk rock band formed in 2002, but has already released several LPs, including an eponymously-named album in 2011.
- Depeche Mode
  
  The legendary Essex electronic band from the 80s remains a classic for Van Dyk. It was also recently among 'Q' magazine's "50 Bands That Changed The World!".
Cody Simpson
- Favorite Movie
  I'm still really into the Ocean's series. I got into them recently. I was always too young to watch them.
- Favorite Book
  This book called Contest by Matthew Reilly, he's an Australian author.
- Favorite Album
  Drake's Take Care — big fan of that
- Favorite TV Show
  The Mentalist
Styx's Lawrence Gowan
- Bossypants by Tina Fey
  
  "That’s got me laughing hysterically on airplanes."
- Making Mirrors by Goyte
  
  "I thought that was a tremendous record."
- The Artist
  
  "It really impressed me."
- Keane
  
  "They’re really strong."
90210's Michael Steger: My Favorite Stuff
- Favorite TV Show: Rome
  
  HBO's series starring Cirian Hinds
- Favorite Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
  
  "Either that or The Gypsy Kings."
- Favorite Book: The Fountainhead
  
  "Probably my favorite book of all time."
- Favorite New Movie: Attack The Block
  
  “It reminded me of The Goonies.”