Suicide by Friends in 'Unfriending'
The Butler Brothers bring comedy to the morbid and disturbing.
Dear Moviegoers,
Not unlike movies such as The Invitation and The Last Supper, Unfriending goes for presenting something disturbing with tension and humor. Mind you, this film, directed by Bret and Jason Butler, isn’t exactly like those other flicks, as it has no A-list stars and is of the criminally underseen variety. These elements are no hindrances to the quality of the movie, as they add an “expect the unexpected” twistiness to the story while demanding attention to the performances in front and behind the camera. Where The Invitation was a thrilling horror, Unfriending is a cauldron of over-the-top comedy and distressing melodrama. Where The Last Supper had a premise that was almost bred for late-night cable presentations and video store rentals, Unfriending has theatrics meant for a bigger-than-TV screen.
In other words, Unfriending is an entertaining and welcome part of a darkly comic genre of cinema.
A group of young adult friends, led by a wannabe menacing and constantly annoyed host, have descended on his parent’s home to have an “intervention” of sorts for the most unlucky and meek member of this circle. They’re not wanting him to get clean from drugs, but rather get clean from their own lives…by convincing him to kill himself at the party. This mild or mid synopsis of mine makes Unfriending sound a bit too elementary I feel, but the film goes far in moving past any failed descriptions or summations of its plot. Really, what the Butler Brothers have accomplished with just a house, a few actors, a pool, and some props, just goes to show that all a filmmaker needs is imagination and ingenuity to make a successful movie.
Actor Michael Pearson, who plays the pseudo-bohemian of the group, is my favorite standout of the featured film’s assholes (as the end titles prominently label them as). Pearson is all in with his privileged, carefree, and all-smiles white guy schtick, which I worried would wear thin in my head. Instead, his genuineness and dedication both flattered the movie and impressed me to no end. His character exists only to correct others pleasantly and to show off non-skills and non-trivia. He’s amazing. And the rest of the cast? Very good too. Unfriending would’ve been a slog if it hadn’t made me dislike the people in it.
Unfriending is made up of frustrations, snark, snobbery, bad intentions, and plenty of jerks. For any movie to be filled to the brim with such human ugliness and be comically clever from time to time has achieved an outstanding feat in my eyes. It’s paced very well given the emotional and tonal turntable the film sits on, and is just pretty darn funny.
Now, there are reasons why bigger movies, like The Invitation and The Last Supper, could be considered in higher regard, but I can only think of one that was in Unfriending’s control, that is the cinematography. From the beginning to about the mid-way point, every shot is composed with fine technical staging and framed to say something more about what’s happening and who it’s happening to, like when the host is moving from the kitchen to the garage, from elegance to dirt and grunge, so he can both pour cheap box wine into premium-ish bottles and finish a simple errand his wife asked him to do, but in the pettiest of ways. Such movements are had throughout until one of the story turns brings about a shift in priority. When the drama takes hold and kicks into the next gear, a flat void in most of the shots is felt, making some moments feel a bit blander than they could’ve been. Of course, these closing scenes are more performance-heavy than what came prior, so maybe dialing things down in other areas was for the best. Maybe.
And maybe Unfriending is being unfairly compared to bigger movies in this review. Apologies, but it’s difficult not to think of similar projects when writing about this new one. Unfriending is as good if not better than other samplings in this sub-genre of macabre, and it deserves more than a save to a streaming queue or a space on someone’s video shelf. It deserves attention. 3/5
Unfriending is currently touring the theater circuit, and is making a limited run at the Zeitgeist in New Orleans on a double bill with another Butler Brothers film, Mourning Has Broken.
Sincerely Yours in Moviegoing,
⚜️🍿
