...........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA....and ORLANDO, FL Reading a Review, I felt motivated to watch and review this film. LOLLILOVE got a firm hold of me 10 minutes in...and never let go! Here's a MOCKUMENTARY, set in the L.A. area (Where else, right?), that focuses on the foibles of charity volunteers who do what they do not out of any blind, selfless "Mother Teresa" style commitment to others, but basically because of how it makes THEM feel! With LOLLILOVE, the term "LOW Budget" really doesn't apply...It's more like: "NO Budget"! Apparently, the female lead, Jennifer Fischer(Jenna) also directs, co-wrote the screenplay, provided the story line and is credited as Illustrator! But if you want a real example of wearing many hats, her husband, Peter Alton, serves as Narrator, Screenplay Co-writer, Composer of Original Music, Film Editor, Cinematographer, Sound Recordist and Graphic Artist! WOW...Talk about a One-Man-Band! Invariably, these tiny, totally unpretentious film projects are much more successful at making me laugh than your typical, 100- Million-Dollar-Overblown-Formulaic-Hollywood "Comedy"! LolliLove is no exception.As a Los Angeles area ex-patriot, the obsessively self-absorbed narcissists portrayed here bring back fond memories! Like those self-mesmerized Hollywood publicists, who gradually convince themselves of the veracity of the B.S. press releases they spin for their clients, the would-be-do-gooders in LolliLove seem to have brainwashed themselves into the firm belief that handing a homeless person a designer lollipop with an artsy Pollyanna-style feel-good message on the wrapper will be a life-changing event that will instantly put them on the fast-track to 12-Step Rehabilitation and unbridled success! Oh, yes...And all this for only a measly $250,000 in charitable, tax- deductible contributions...Why can't they seem to find any contributors?!?! It's inspired, all-in-good-fun, biting satire at its best.9*....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!.....
... View More"That the lollipops of Lollilove may propel homeless people to going out and do something good with their lives. Feeling good about themselves. Perhaps getting a job. Maybe using birth control."Lollilove is a pretty funny flick, but in a very dark way. Jenna Fisher must have quite the black sense of humor to write something like this, because many of the jokes cross the "politically correct" line in a way that you'd expect from Sarah Silverman, not from the angel-faced woman that so many people have become fans of because of The Office.This mockumentary follows a vapid, shallow, wealthy couple (played by Jenna and her ex-husband), who feed their own vanity by coming up with an absurd scheme to help the homeless...by founding a charity named Lollilove. A charity that aims to inspire and help those living on the streets by giving them a lollipop every week. Lollipops with (supposedly) life-changing artwork and slogans written on custom (and very expensive) wrappers. The story follows them trying to procure a corporate sponsor and funding to get their "charity" up and running, and then we see them and a few of their friends put their plan into action. The relationship of the couple also gets tested by the strain of their efforts, and starts to deteriorate as Lollilove comes together.As I said, this is a pretty dark comedy. You have to have a specific sense of humor to "get" it. When the jokes work, they work very well (the homeless man that confronts Jenna with his..."desires" near the end left my side hurting from laughing), but there are also some that fall flat. Still, for such a low budget production, I though Lollilove was fairly impressive. At the very least, fans of Fisher should check it out.
... View MoreDirected by and starring Jenna Fischer who most people will know from her role in the American version of The Office TV series. Her very natural acting abilities make it very easy to forget that the documentary LolliLove you are watching, is actually a skillfully scripted and directed film. Fischer wrote her directorial debut with Peter Alton and (uncredited) her real-life husband James Gunn (writer of the Scooby Doo films, Dawn of the Dead remake and Tromeo and Juliet and writer/director of Slither) . Gunn also plays her husband in the film as well, and as he has shown briefly in Tromeo & Juliet, his acting is of the same lifelike quality as Jenna's. Lollilove is about those people who try to do the right thing by devoting themselves to a charity project for all the wrong reasons and without any genuine knowledge or understanding of the badly treated individuals in our society they try to help, and even worse so: without any interest in them apart from the opportunity to show off as a better person themselves. And the saddest thing is that they don't even know or realize this themselves. A very dark comedy that is never too funny and sometimes gut-wrenchingly showing the mental poverty of those who are looked upon as being well off. With this film as her debut as a film director, it should only be common sense to be confident that Jenna Fischer has a rich career ahead of her. The feature film is done justice with a rich collection of extra's on Troma's DVD presentation that would make Criterion proud. A very informative and entertaining audio-commentary by Fisher and Gunn with Peter Alton and producer Stephen Blackeheart (100 million BCfriends, a very detailed behind the scenes documentary and a rich collection of deleted scenes and interviews with the Gunns, but also historic film introductions with James Gunn and Stephen Blackeheart from various Troma films, exclusive footage from the set of James Gunn's Slither and much more. Also starring Linda Cardellini (E.R., Broke Back Mountain), Jason Segel (CSI), Joan M. Blair (Donnie Darko, E.R.), Lloyd Kaufman (Terror Firmer) and many more, this is a star studded film that would have been a huge hit if it wasn't released by a blacklisted small independent film studio. Do yourself a favor and see this film. Buy it. Enjoy it. Highly recommended!
... View MoreAs a fan of the good people at Troma's work and ideals, it was on visiting the Troma site that I stumbled on this gem; a mockumentary about helping the homeless by giving them lollies, Lollilove is a sharp satire about helping those less fortunate and a strong debut from Jenna Fischer, but not without flaws.The characters are well written, and the cast are believable and funny. Even Lloyd Kaufman, in one of his stronger role, as Father Lloyd. James Gunn gets most of the laughs as the ridiculous artist husband, making a number of very un-pc statements - his character is improved for it. The editing, though, is the films trump card, making the film hold together better than most mockumentaries (and a lot of the Troma back catalogue for that matter), looking a lot more professional than its meagre budget justifies. Though Lollilove isn't your average Troma picture and probably won't please all Troma fans, this does share the Troma independent spirit and the dark macabre humour. That said, there are flaws, the major one being its length; a 65 minute running time, which for a feature film is not long enough to be truly satisfying, at least to this cinephile; yes, the deleted scenes on the DVD would have harmed the film had they been included, but Lollilove would have benefited an extra day or twos shooting, and 10 minutes more the running length. One clumsy directorial choice was the bleeping of swearing, intended to make Lollilove more like a TV show, but seems out of place given the dark nature of humour. Also, a couple of points in the film the joke ratio isn't as strong as it could be, especially when compared to the work of Christopher Guest (a tough comparison point, being that he's an auteur of this genre). Though not perfect, Lollilove is a wicked satire, a promising debut, and a good Troma title to boot. Perhaps to fully appreciate this film, it is necessary to note the low budget production values, and the work done between husband and wife Jenna and James Gunn. This is worth further investigation if your a fan of mockumentaries, and have a dark sense of humour.
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