AMERICAN SCIFI (2020)
Starring: Hannah Swayze, Robert Hoffman, Chris McElroy
Writers: Chris McElroy, Corey Schmalzle
Director: Chris McElroy
Teenagers Liv (Swayze), Tyler (Hoffman) and Jared (McElroy) work at a fun park - well, Liv works there while Tyler and Jared seem to spend most of their time thinking of ways to avoid work. The three of them are plunged into an unexpected adventure when a mysterious object falls from the sky and lands in the parking lot. Is this the beginning of an alien invasion?
Not only does Chris McElroy appears in this as the kind of guy who will think of a thousand other things to do than clean up an ice cream that some kid has accidentally dropped right in front of him, he also directed, co-produced and co-wrote the screenplay. I'm guessing that he probably did the catering and drove everyone to and from the set.
Made for just $1,500, this is a prime example of taking the resources you have available - including the excellent setting of the local Costa's Family Fun Park in Hawley, Pennsylvania - and weaving those into its skewed take on a classic science fiction body snatchers plot where there appears to be no escape from either the forces of federal law and order or the extraterrestrial menace.
American SciFi also makes use of, er, American sci-fi, with clips from many public domain movies incorporated into its tale of disgruntled employees being thrust into a life or death struggle. Not that anyone other than Liv particularly understands the gravity, pardon the pun, of the unidentified fallen object which has literally put a dent in everyone's plans.
Park manager Dave (Zachary Caruso) is too busy sucking up to the FBI guy in charge of the investigation and dispensing what he believes is wisdom from his supervisory playbook. Tyler is distracted by Joanna, the object of his affection. Jared, well, he doesn't really want to be there apart from the fact his two best friends are in the same place.
In terms of people who don't want to be there, this does have that flavour of other low-budget indie fare such as Clerks but this is far less abrasive and the humour is infinitely less profane. The comic timing isn't always as crisp as it could be but there are more than enough gags crammed in to allow for some of them to miss the target without adversely affecting the general high jinks of the piece.
There's a particularly fine car chase towards the end which is chucklesome to begin with and then even funnier when it switches to the reality of the action sequence. Similarly, the warning about not running in the Lazer Tag arena coming home to roost had me giggling a whole lot. Okay, so there are points where the humour is forced towards breaking point but the whole enterprise is so good natured and eager to please its audience that you can't help but be on its side and allow it the odd moment or two where it doesn't know when to stop.
American SciFi has a strong, engaging, female lead in Swayze, one who invariably comes up with all of the potential solutions for problems both ordinary and extraordinary, even if the guys around her often take the credit for them. Liv is clearly destined for greater things and one of the subplots deals with how her scientific excellence will take her away from Hawley and her close friends. Refreshingly, she isn't saddled with the age-old realisation that she's in love with one of them. No, she's there to solve the alien mystery and romance is not going to get in the way.
This is a mix of the inspired and the endearingly ramshackle. Sure, it may be a tad clunky in places but on a budget of just $1,500 this is little short of a marvel. McElroy the actor/writer/producer/director/ whatever other jobs he took on should be rightly proud of the finished product. It's confidently put together; it brims with ideas and bodes well for whatever project he decides to make next.
If the fun park's chef Jeff actually cared about his job and American SciFi was on the menu, he might describe it as a warm, tasty slice of Americana topped with a sweet tale of friendship plus a side order of gloopy alien action served up for good measure. Jeff, however, is clearly not that chef, so I'm telling you instead. Oh, and it turns out that occasionally it's better to take the low road and to not to clean up that dropped ice cream. Who'd have thought that?
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