Movie Review: 'The FP'
By Julie Lee
March 16, 2012 8:50 p.m.
The FP
Directed by Brandon and Jason Trost
Drafthouse Films
It’s not a secret: the Internet in Westwood Village is painstakingly slow, especially during finals week. Though there have been countless frustrations with the 405-esque Internet traffic, it ultimately is a saving grace if one were to ever try to stream “The FP” online.
“The FP” tells the story of JTRO, the protagonist, trying to reclaim the FP, or Frazier Park, an underground wasteland, after his older brother, BTRO, dies in a battle with the rival gang trying to protect it. And that is the extent of the story. The shallow plot, however, is not the only problem with the movie.
BTRO dies in a dance battle arcade game, unimaginatively named Beat-Beat Revolution, undoubtedly giving a nod to “Dance-Dance Revolution.” Not only did the writers decide to put such little effort into creating the name Beat-Beat Revolution, they also decided to craft the name “BTRO” from the first and last name of the director, Brandon Trost.
Once BTRO dies, JTRO ““ the same technique used here to create his name from Jason Trost, who co-directs and also plays JTRO ““ withdraws into the real world. But his fellow gang-member, KC/DC, tracks him down and convinces him to come back and save the FP.
Not only is the storyline itself overly simplistic, the writers of the movie decide to take it a step further into making the movie more crude by adding profanity in every sentence and ending each one with the word “yo.”
The actors, also, do not deliver the script with ease. Though the actors do commit to their characters, the words come out unnaturally. Instead of saying words like “bro” or “dog” as if just talking to a friend, it awkwardly sounds as if they are forcing them out.
The directing also does nothing to save the movie from the actors. Cinematography should aid the movie and help transition movements between actors. But it only makes the actors look as if they are saying their stage cues. When one actor says, “He should be here any minute,” the camera whips around to show a car driving in with the said “he” in tow. No guesswork is required to leave the audience in anticipation ““ the car just appears.
But it doesn’t even help when the director makes an attempt at cinematography. Instead of letting a carefully designed set speak loudly for itself, the director forces light into a dark room anytime JTRO enters, undoubtedly trying to drive home the idea that JTRO will be FP’s saving grace.
The acting, directing and storyline leave much to be desired. Maybe it will be a cult classic, but it’s far from a decent film.
