#also going on the record here: stephanie hsu was ROBBED

[indie-queer-movie-tournament]

Everything Everywhere All At Once

An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what’s important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.

Letterboxd:

[two seperate reviews, because they're short]

Started crying at the line about taxes and laundry and didn't stop until the movie ended this is one of the best things i’ve ever seen in my piece of shit life.

[amateur-theater-critic-blog]

Be More Chill

Be More Chill is a disappointing and repetitive play that leans too much on its ability to provide good music to develop any sort of character or original plot. Based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini, it tells the tale of an average boy going through the troubles of high school when he encounters the Japanese supercomputer nanotechnology called the S.Q.U.I.P. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really do anything with that idea. Instead it uses old overused high school cliches that any casual reader of anything can recognize. Everything you think that will happen, happens. And not even in an original fashion, either. It felt more like going through the motions. We need a strong independent love interest, but she has to fall in love with him in the end, so, in the very last scene, with no prior interest in the main character, she will tell him she loves him and kiss him.

There are also a lot of plot points that are mentioned once - as if to set up conflict or problem, and then is never addressed again. In one scene, the rich kid’s house gets set on fire, and even though it triggers a song and one of the characters walks in crutches, nobody else seems to actually be affected by it. The whole deal is dropped after the song - even the crutches in the next few scenes. There’s also a moment when the SQUIP tells Jeremy that he isn’t going to be cool, he’s going to be chill, while never providing a distinction, even in the story. Other scenes are similarly disjointed, even though they happen within a few days of Jeremy’s life.

None of the characters have any dimension to them, simply given a single characteristic from the beginning that stays with them through the end - a wikipedia one word description, one could say. In addition, the plot itself is flawed, wherein the villain ultimately made everything better and not being yourself is the answer - completely contradicting their attempt at a moral. It is also unclear is Christine, the love interest, was ever interested in Jeremy, making the last scene, where she suddenly proclaims her love to him, a little suspicious. However, I feel like that problem stems from the director not allowing the actors to flesh out their own role, as the first act has a very good base for interesting characters, if not good ones.

If that were the only bad part, I would think it was a pretty okay musical. It fails terribly as a storytelling medium, but at least it would have had good music and songs. And while individually, each song and dance number is reasonably good, when you listen to all of it one after the other, it gets boring. The sound of the people singing feels especially artificial next to the techno style instrumentals, and it is just loud enough that eventually it stops being a song and just becomes word vomit with a catchy beat. When I listened to the playlist of songs on Spotify, I was shocked at the difference in quality. Maybe the problem here is that it was only previews and the issue will be fixed in the real performance, maybe not. Who knows.

The best part of the play, hands down, was the set design and the lighting. With screens lining the front of the stage, and the whole techno vibe, it was absolutely beautiful. The only time it got in the way was when there were lights flashing in the audience, and the balcony was just at the right level to have spotlights flashed right into unsuspecting eyes. Luckily, it was only done once.

In reading reviews of the 2015 off-broadway version, most critics agree with my thoughts, that the story on its own is pretty shallow, so if you don’t particularly like the music, it doesn’t provide much else in the way of entertainment. So, my suggestion is to listen to the Spotify Be More Chill Original cast recording, and if you really like that, like really love it, then sure, go ahead, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying it.

Rating: 2/5

Now In Previews: Opening Night is March 10th

http://bemorechillmusical.com/

Cast and Creative:

Jeremy Heere -- Will Roland

Mr. Heere/Mr. Reyes/Scary Stockboy -- Jason Sweettooth Williams

Jake Dillinger -- Britton Smith

Chloe Valentine -- Katlyn Carlson

Brooke Lohst -- Lauren Marcus

Rich Goranski -- Gerard Canonico

Christine Canigula -- Stephanie Hsu

Jenna Rolan -- Tiffany Mann

Michael Mell -- George Salazar

The Squip -- Jason Tam

Music and Lyrics -- Joe Iconis

Book -- Joe Tracz

Director -- Stephen Brackett

Choreography -- Chase Brock

Music Supervisor and Orchestrator -- Charlie Rosen

Music Director and Vocal Arranger -- Emily Marshall

Scenic Designer -- Beowulf Boritt

Costume Designer -- Bobby Frederick Tilley II

Lighting Designer -- Tyler Micoleau

Sound Designer -- Ryan Rumery

Projection Designer -- Alex Basco Koch

Wig and Makeup Designer -- Dave Bova

Fight Designer -- J. David Brimmer

Music Coordinator -- Michael Aarons

Dance Arrangements -- Rob Berman

Production Stage Manager -- Amanda Michaels

Production Supervisor -- Senovva

Associate Music Director -- Geoffrey Ko

Associate Choreographer -- Alicia Lundgren

Musicians:

Conductor/Keyboard 1 -- Emily Marshall

Theremin/Trumpet/Flugabone/Recorder -- Danny Jonokuchi

Woodwinds/Keyboard 2/Vocoder -- Josh Plotner

Guitar 1 -- Mike Rosengarten

Guitar 2/Ukelele -- Charlie Rosen

Drums/Percussion -- Marques Walls

Bass -- Dennis Michael Keefe