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So who doesn’t
like playing house? When we were kids, it
was all fun and games. For girls, it was
the ultimate means of being a ‘gown-up’…
as for the boys, they pretended to not enjoy
playing the pretend husband for a pretend
dinner, while taking care of pretend children.
Pretending is awesome as a kid. It’s
innocent, it’s fun and it makes for
a great learning experience. Unfortunately,
when you become an adult the innocence can
be lost and when that happens, all there
is left… is pain.
First time feature film director T. Vaughan
explores this premise with “Playing
House.” Billed as an erotic thriller,
the film introduces us to newlyweds Mitch
(Craig Welzbacher) and Jen (Sarah Prikryl).
As most newlyweds are prone to do, they
have bought their first house only to learn
that the bills quickly overpower their collective
salaries. So what do they do? Ask Mitch’s
best friend Danny (Matt Lusk) to move in
with them. (Big mistake #1)
Shortly after Danny moves in, he introduces
Blair (Mayra Leal) to the couple. Well,
introduces might be a bit of a stretch…
they actually find her nearly naked in the
kitchen. THEN he introduces her (Big mistake
#2).
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As that relationship blossoms, Blair starts spending
a lot of time over at the house… way too
much time. Blair’s open flirtatiousness
soon catches Jen’s attention and things
steadily go downhill from there as her not so
open insanity starts to show through.
“Playing House” has most of the ingredients
it needs to be a really good movie, but it never
really takes viewers where they want to go. It
is a rather ‘laid back’ thriller.
The script is fairly solid, as is the camera work,
but it falls short in the editing… which
also of course affects performances and the overall
flow of the film. Conversations seem, at times,
to be stilted. There are too many pauses between
some of the lines of dialogue and it is quite
noticeable.
Of course, it is a film by a new director and
so it is evident he has a lot to learn. The film
shows promise and I’d be very curious to
catch whatever film might be next for him to see
if he is able to move past the mistakes made in
this one.
The DVD release offers no special features, which
in this case I am disappointed. The movie might
not have especially good, but it was interesting
enough to warrant a look. Rent it, or catch it
on Netflix when available.
Directed by: T. Vaughan
Starring: Craig Welzbacher, Sarah Prikryl, Matt
Lusk, Mayra Leal
Extras: None
Studio: Maya Entertainment
Release Date: 6/21/2011
MPAA Rating: NR
http://www.maya-entertainment.com
We'll give Playing House a C.
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