CFF 2014: Afterparty Review

Afterparty

Afterparty

On the night of his brother’s wedding, best man Charlie (Graham Coffeng) gets the old gang together for a fun-filled, post-reception after party at the newlywed’s home where he has been staying for several weeks. Unsure of how to proceed with his own troubled marriage, Charlie reunites “the fellas” fifteen years after high school in hopes that revisiting the past will help him find clarity about his plans for the future. What Charlie finds, however, is that though his friends have all taken different paths, they are faced with similar conundrums that come with being in one’s thirties.

Featuring a mainly improvised script that’s the responsibility of the entire cast, director Michelle Ouellet keeps a very loose hold on the events of the film, which is just as troubling as it is novel. The story meanders through the overnight drinking session, changing tone from very goofy and lackluster comedic set pieces like a game of Dance Party, to more dramatic pieces that further individual stories quite nicely. The thing performances keep everything afloat and easily watchable. All of the actors are solid in their own right, but it’s Coffeng and Ali Liebert who emerge as particularly strong.

The film comes to a head when Charlie can no longer hold it together and it takes one of the young visitors to point out what is really happening within the group. It’s a predictable end to the story, but one that still manages to end the film on a high note. (Kirk Haviland)

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Screens

Saturday, March 22nd, 8:45pm, The Royal (Closing Night Gala)



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