Friday, September 01, 2006

Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party

Out of 10 stars I give this movie an 11, and I'd give it a 12 if it weren't more than a little bit amateurish. But this is completely excusable! Robert Brinkmann's quirky, self-financed film was made without a script and in only 3 days of shooting. And: it's star is Stephen Tobolowsky, the swim-with-the-dolphins zen master shoulder-to-the-shovel heart-of-a-child genius of a character actor, and he, let me tell you, is a rare blessing upon our culture and our age. You may not recognize the name Stephen Tobolowsky, but surely you'll recognize his face. He's acted in over 150 movies. To sum it up, "Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party" is like "My Dinner with Andre" but 10,000 times better.