 |
| Images courtesy of Best & Final Releasing |
Nebraska based writer-director-cinematographer-editor Adam
Carter Rehmeier first burst onto the cinema stage with his vile and sadistic
torture porn film The Bunny Game which remains one of the worst films I’ve
ever seen. A few years later, he shifted
gears with his ethereal dramatic fantasy film Jonas and didn’t quite
make a splash with it despite being billed as a loose companion piece to The
Bunny Game. Circa 2020, however, he
reemerged as a coming-of-age director with his Michigan based sex comedy Dinner
in America and managed to get the attention of John Waters who named it one
of his favorite films of the year. While
initially released during COVID to die a quiet death, the film started gaining
traction on TikTok and last year finally secured theatrical distribution in the
US. For today, we’re looking at Arrow
Video’s international release of Adam Carter Rehmeier’s unlikely Todd Solondz/Jared
Hess inspired romcom featuring notable highlights of the Michigan area.
Simon (Kyle Gallner) is a reckless punk-rock singer down on
his luck on the run after committing arson and evading pickup by the
police. Meanwhile introverted awkward
Patty (Emily Skeggs) is bullied by track runners at school and is stuck at home
with her brother Kevin (Griffin Gluck) and their overbearing parents Norman (Pat
Healy) and Connie (Mary Lynn Rajskub) who squash her dreams of going to see a
rock show with her friends. Secretly for
the past couple of years, Patty has been secretly sending nudes of herself to
John Q, the frontman of her favorite band PSYOPS. Unbeknownst to her, John Q who ordinarily dons
a mask when he performs onstage is in fact Simon and soon as he’s being chased
by cops he crosses paths with Patty who gives him refuge in her home not
knowing she invited her hero into her world.
Produced by Ben Stiller and Ross Putman and featuring a bevy
of original songs that will make some viewers think back on Heather Matarazzo’s
battle cry in Welcome to the Dollhouse, Dinner in America is a
refreshing change of step for writer-director Adam Carter Rehmeier in an
unfailingly cute romantic comedy.
Offbeat, wild and even a little anarchic but ultimately sweet natured at
heart, it is a welcome slice of Michigan suburbia replete with office buildings
Troy residents will likely recognize while also offering up a unique spin on
the lovers-on-the-run chase comedy. The
centerpiece involves the unlikely twosome writing and performing a song called Watermelon
which speaks to the protagonist’s own declaration of taking on the world
not caring what others think or say about her.
In a break with tradition, director Adam Carter Rehmeier
relayed cinematographic duties to Jean-Philippe Bernier of Turbo Kid and
Summer of 84 and his scope 2.35:1 camerawork captures the Detroit
suburban exteriors beautifully. To further
drive home the Napoleon Dynamite connection, Rehmeier went as far as to
hire that film’s composer John Swihart for the quirky soundscape navigating the
original song track listing by Disco Assault.
Kyle Gallner who recently appeared in the horror films Smile and Strange
Darling makes Simon the criminal punk rock singer into initially a
threatening character who gradually becomes something of a pillar for Emily
Skeggs’ plucky introvert just awaiting her moment to pounce and roar. Skeggs herself was recently in Peter Berg’s Mile
22 and here announces herself as a quiet but ferocious force to be reckoned
with. The supporting ensemble cast is
strong while Back to the Future fans will enjoy a sneaky Lea Thompson
cameo.
Initially premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in
January of 2020 before leaving without a distribution deal before COVID-19 hit
and forced the film into virtual screenings, the filmmakers decided to self-distribute
the film in select theaters on May 2022 by Best & Final Releasing followed
by a streaming release two weeks later.
However, circa 2024, the film saw renewed interest on TikTok where it
engendered a cult following before appearing on the streaming service Hulu and
began trending on Letterboxd. Not long
after, more screenings of the film started cropping up throughout the country
with the director present for some occasions including but not limited to the
Redford Theater recently. Looking at
this quirky mashup of Penelope Spheeris, Todd Solondz and Jared Hess, Dinner
in America is a real regional homegrown treat of a romantic comedy. You’d be hard pressed for this not to leave
you with a smile on your face.
--Andrew Kotwicki
