Chicago writer and director Kris Rey’s newest film “I Used to Go Here” will premiere and cater to Chicagoans thanks to Elevated Films and The Music Box Theatre as it will be shown at ChiTown Movies Drive-In Theater on Wednesday, July 29 with a live Q&A. For ticket informaiton, visit: DRIVE IN TICKET INFO If you can’t make it, don’t despair, as you can still catch it virtually via online rentals beginning Friday, July 31 through the Music Box’s Virtual Cinema program. For info, go here: VIRTUAL TICKET INFO

“I Used to Go Here” depicts Chicagoan Kate Conklin (Gillian Jacobs) as a mediocre author who has published her first book to less than favorable reviews. However, a former writing professor, David (Jemaine Clement) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale invites her to speak at her alma mater. Boosted slightly by this, Kate returns, but soon finds herself immeshed in students’ lives, reliving her past and coming to terms with her present and her future.

Kate’s superficial confidence with the lack thereof bubbling just beneath the surface is the the attribute which allows her to change over the course of the film. 10 years have passed since she graduated and each and every interaction with students punctuates her lack of success and how time quickly flies by. The students look up to her, but deep down she knows she doesn’t deserve their respect that is until she connects with Hugo (Josh Wiggins), a student who lives in her old house and has her old room. From this point, Kate ingratiates herself into their world, attempting to turn back the hands of time.

Jacobs portrays Kate beautifully as a woman who has been recently dumped and her life is in neutral, but she’s looking for a way to shift things into high gear and on the right path. Her ability to hone in on the awkwardness of each and every situation finds just the right note of humor to make you not only laugh, but also connect with her.

The secondary stories within the film all support Kate’s story arc, but they also add humor and heart to the film. April’s role (Hannah Marks) provides the mirror image for Kate which instigates jealousy and anger. But looking in the mirror, she is also able to finally see her reflection which provides one of the most poignant moments in the film. Tall Brandon (Brandon Daley) is just downright funny and his connection with Hugo’s mom is at once strange and hilarious providing balance within the story as Kate begins to wake up to the realities of her past. Wiggnins is a standout as Hugo with an incredibly natural performance that is both witty and charming. He also finds a level of unexpected maturity that is authentically portrayed giving his character depth and complexity.

Rarely do you find just attention to detail in supporting characters that become equally important to the lead role, but Rey expertly does so. She also has a comedic knack for how we all perceive our pasts, but it is with Kate’s former crush on David that really accentuates how our memories sometimes deceive us. Seeing someone through experienced and adult eyes is jarring when our memory recalls a less jaded viewpoint; one filled with hope and the power of youth. Within all of these actions and interactions, Kate, in her own way, grows up.
Rey’s wisdom within the film is like looking into a crystal ball that comedically yet poignantly tells one woman’s life story. Who doesn’t look back on our college years and wish we had the wisdom of life’s experiences now to impart on our younger selves? And Rey deftly commits to this storyline with a character who is lovable yet at the same time we shake our heads at her decisions and laugh.

“I Used to Go Here” is a film that many of us can relate to, but if you went to SIU-C, you’re going to truly walk down memory lane. Rey’s succinct story telling creates an innovative and entertaining film, but with Jacobs in the lead role this movie becomes an even more memorable one.

Thanks to the Music Box Theatre Virtual Cinema Program, you can see this one week earlier than its Video On Demand Release.

4 Stars

Bart (Tye Sheridan) is an unusual boy, living in his mother’s basement, dining alone while she does the same just a floor above. His atypical characteristics don’t stop there, but it’s not until he goes to his job as a night clerk at a hotel that we witness just how different he is and why. Bart, rigging up video surveillance systems in several rooms, places beautiful women in each. His motives aren’t what you think, but he unwittingly witnesses a murder. Unsure of how to process what he’s seen, Bart digs himself a deeper hole as the police become involved.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE

There are several stories taking place at the same time in “The Night Clerk.” The first is a race against the clock to clear Bart’s name. The second is a love story, but it’s the third story that adds a twist to the first two. Bart is on the spectrum of autism. His voyeuristic tendencies aren’t malicious. In fact, he uses this technique to help him learn and rehearse interactions allowing him to sound more “normal” in situations. It is his strained relationship with his mother (Helen Hunt) that gives us the additional information we need to better understand Bart and the story to come.

Following the murder, another guest checks in, Andrea (Ana de Armas). In an effort to protect her from her predecessor’s fate, Bart shares his deepest secrets. In return, Andrea’s kindness and understanding of Bart is misinterpreted which elicits emotions and reactions that are at best confusing to him. His black and white world has been flooded with color that he is ill-equipped to process.

Writing a story where the main character has Asperger’s Syndrome is no easy task. The dialogue and Sheridan’s performance carry the load of success for “The Night Clerk.” The perfectly placed conversations between Bart and Andrea gives us great insight into what being on the spectrum means. He sees and processes information differently, but his need to love and be loved is exactly like anyone else’s. Sheridan’s portrayal of this seemingly emotionally flat character connects us to him to not only understand him but to also care about him.

“The Night Clerk” also uniquely sets up situations which allow us to see the world through Bart’s eyes. Gaining that specific knowledge base, we are in tune with Bart and when he makes those awkward and sometimes very dangerous wrong decisions we understand why he’s doing it. And as the cops, lead by Detective Espada (John Leguizamo), close in on the prime suspect, the intensity increases as we only want Bart to be safe, but with his communication style and inabilities, it’s a tension-filled final act.

Although “The Night Clerk” is a crime thriller at the core, its branches spread much wider as we walk in another’s shoes, gaining understanding and empathy. Sheridan’s deft portrayal of someone “on the spectrum” takes us into an interior world previously unknown to us and by the end of the film, we have emotionally connected with him. When a film can open our eyes and our hearts to perhaps be more compassionate to others while it entertains us with a uniquely suspenseful story, it’s a film worth seeing.

3 1/2 stars

“Being Frank,” traveled the film festival circuit for quite some time before getting its final edits and now a release across the country. The film stars Jim Gaffigan, a favorite stand up comic whose acting career is bursting at the seems right now, as Frank, a man who attempts to balance life with two families; each unknown to the other. Of course, all “good” things must come to an end and Frank finds himself in a pickle with his son Phillip (Logan Miller). It’s a dark comedy that keeps the laughs coming thanks to the creative writing and directing as well as the casts’ impeccable ability to play off of one another yet still maintain a level of drama.

In an interview recently, Director Miranda Bailey discussed the changes made to the original concept, how she balances life, her female review site Cherry Picks, and quite shockingly, the fact that she had never heard of Jim Gaffigan before casting her film! Shocking, simply shocking.

Pamela Powell (PP): I understand you had a few changes to the overall script, making it a more personal one.

Miranda Bailey (MB): When I first received the script…it was in modern times. The one (wife) that Frank really loved was the stay-at-home mom who cooked all the time and was perfect and the other [wife] was working…We’re not going to have the one he really loves as this kind, sweet mom and the working mom is this one that no one wants around. Those elements changed drastically, the roles of the women. [The film was also] moved to 1992 which was a time in my life that was when my parents got divorced…I felt the fear that Phillip (Miller) goes through. ***SPOILER*** I was able to … say everything that I wanted to say to my dad or to myself as a child through the character. When Anna Gunn [the character of Laura] is saying .. well, he’ll always be your dad even though he’s a total dick … I wish someone would have said that to me.

PP: Initially, I thought it was an odd casting choice to have Gaffigan, but now I can’t imagine anyone else being able to pull off this role!

MB: I actually didn’t even know him when we started casting, I didn’t even know Jim Gaffigan!

PP: NO!

MB: When the script was ready to go, and you want Jason Bateman, but it can’t be Jason Bateman, 1. Because we can’t afford him; 2. He’s not available, and 3. Then it’s a Jason Bateman movie. It’s quite hard, especially in that age range to try to find someone who can be likable and lovable and still doing something so cruel but with cowardice…Initially, we were thinking Louis CK …and I’m so lucky the agents never gave it to him!

PP: Can you imagine?

MB: ****SPOILER***** Oh, my God! That would be awful! We made this movie before…any of the Weinstein stuff came out. Movies take a long time to go from concept to [finish] so it’s been pretty interesting in editing based on those things. [In] the version at the festivals, “You Can’t Choose Your Family,” Frank was forgiven by his son and I changed that in the end because the world has changed in that year.

PP: Gaffigan’s comedy has a very dark edge to it in this film. As a director, how did you draw that out of him?

MB: He definitely does have the dark comedic elements to him. That’s not necessarily part of his standup, but, you know, tragedy is funny! I think he understands that.

PP: Frank’s relationship with Laura is based on a lie. Can you talk about the lies and all the relationships?

MB: A lot of this movie focuses on lies. Everyone in this film, not just Frank, is lying to someone else or lying to themselves. Whether it’s Phillip lying about where he’s going, that he’s not drinking, he’s studying and his best friend’s lying about being gay, and Anna Gunn’s character is lying about being in a happy marriage. Not lying, but she’s refusing, she knows, she’s reading that book, she knows that something’s going on, she knows she’s not in love, she’s staying the course, she’s lying to herself that it’ll be ok. Samantha [her character of Bonnie] is being lied to but she is oblivious and doesn’t know but that’s like part of why she keeps painting the same thing, her home in her own back yard, nothing changes. Something’s going on and she’s trying to find it. She doesn’t know what it is, it’s like this weird artful metaphor, but she doesn’t realize it’s her and her husband.

PP: I hadn’t thought about that being her subconscious talking to her! Let’s chat about your own balancing act in life as director, producer, wife, and mother.

MB: I have a stay-at-home husband and my mother [and in-laws] and brother living here. When I was filming “Being Frank,” I had a really solid support system. … I don’t think I could do it without a supportive partner who was like, ‘Hey, I really want my job to be the house person,’ which is like the hardest job there is. That said, when I come home from work, he’s like, here you go! Your turn!

PP: It’s a tough balancing act!

MB: There’s a lot of pressure on us from society… when I was producing…all the traveling…all the guys and women were single and I was married and I was like the “bad mom” ha ha ha. They’d joke about it, [saying], “You’re never around. You’re always in Toronto drinking beer with us ha ha ha.” I’m not a bad mom, I’m a very good mom, but you don’t say anything. I think we feel guiltiest. Like my dad never had to go to parent teacher conferences and never got the pressure to do that. … And I hate dealing with teachers and principals and report cards, so it’s good because I just make him [my husband] do all that. (Laughs)

PP: I bet he’s good at it!

MB: He is because he’s nice. There’s got to be someone as the tough one. I’m tough in my regular life which is not home so when I come home and they say, can I have ice cream for dinner, I’m like, yep! Sure!

PP: You’ve got so many irons in the fire all the time and Cherry Picks review site for women is one of them and has been live now for 8 months. How’s that going?

MB: We now have this fantastic design that’s operating and at the end of the month we’ll have this critics [area] where critics will be able to upload their own stuff … and we have our own articles … we’re still learning and growing. It takes a long time to build. It’s like remodeling a kitchen. It takes 10 times longer than you expect. Rotten Tomatoes is great, but it’s for a specific audience and Cherry Picks is also for a specific audience.

“Being Frank” expands across the country this weekend and you can find more information about Cherry Picks at thecherrypicks.com

Film Rating: 3/4 Stars