Stacy Title directs Cameron Diaz, Courtney B. Vance and Annabeth Gish in this indie thriller satire where a group of liberal post grads invite right wing nuts to dinner and poison them if they can’t change their views.

A chunk of a forgotten gem from the post-Reservoir Dogs era. Like Tarantino’s debut it takes a cast of fascinating talents (some rising stars, some cult character actors) puts them in one location, let’s them talk smart and chop each other up to a hip Seventies’ jukebox soundtrack. As a dark comedy this flies. The caricatures the “good guys” murder, anti abortionists and rednecks, are bluntly realised by a cavalcade recognisable faces (Bill Paxton, Jason Alexander, Ron Perlman). Each cameo relishes playing a doomed heel. Yet the young protagonists fall apart and volte-face pretty convincingly over the short runtime. Nobody is the same by the closing punchline and the creatives behind the project are canny enough to explore their flaws beyond the obvious one… That they murder people they feel superior to. The movie moves at an incredibly deft pace and has a rich colour palette. It really holds up well, and foretells of the echo chamber culture we live in currently. Strong stuff, overdue a rediscover.

9

Perfect Double Bill: A Life Less Ordinary (1997)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin