The FP – Review

Another great thing of residing in Austin Texas is the annual SXSW festival. During which, I caught Art Hsu’s new zany flick, The FP.  For years an underground war has raged for dominance over the town of Frazier Park between two clans. Dominance isn’t determined through fistfights or petty brawls, but the dancing video game similar to Dance Dance Revolution. This is one of the most unique premises for a film I have ever seen. The movie almost dares audiences to take it seriously — doing everything in its power to convince audiences that what they are watching is some lost home video treasure that was time traveled to the present from the future. The love interest is Stacy, a former JTRO fan who he discovers is being abused by her trailer park dad. Stacy’s heartfelt sob story is ridiculous, but part of the FP tone.

The big difference is that they occur in a world populated by characters dressed like they belong in ‘The Road Warrior’. Not a bad thing by any means, but it really is so over the top that when you do laugh at this film you’ll release it is from a parody perspective. There are moments in The FP that are almost too outlandish to describe. Even though The FP is about complete and utter idiots, you don’t have to be an idiot to enjoy the film. After all, SXSW is known for its rambunctious vibe and I can think of no better fitting film to be showcased there.

In the case of THE FP, I hadn’t seen a trailer or a still from the film. The only thing I’d heard about the film was endless praise from people I trust about how inventive and funny it was. Art Hsu, who I had a chance to interview for the site, does a bang up job bringing his personality to the role. Out of everything I have seen at SXSW so far, with the exception of American Animal, I have not been nearly this entertained or laughed this hard. Art Hsu is destined for great things in his career, I have no doubts.

When the laughs were over and the battles started, by then I cared about characters and was excited to see the inevitable conclusion. The FP sports a short running time of 85 minutes but that just means there isn’t much filler. It won’t win any oscars but it goes down perfectly with a large pizza and a twelve pack of beers. Like a brass knuckle to the face, The FP asserts its obnoxiousness through loud, boisterous performance. Say what you will about the premise or even the quality of filmmaking, but this movie was loads of fun and once it reachers a wider audience you shouldn’t hesitate to grab a group of friends and head out to see The FP. There’s no official release date as of yet, but this flick is catching a lot of buzz so it might not be long before we see it on the market. Keep your eyes out for this one.