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We Married Margo
Right off: this great little film doesn't have a distributor yet, and it should. JD Shapiro's debut film We Married Margo is a romantic comedy, but the romance is more like a friendship between the two ex-husbands who were dumped by the same woman. The title character Margo has the absolutely unintelligible voice of the adults in the Peanuts; she barely makes an appearance.

Ex-husband #1 (JD Shapiro) befriends the newly divorced ex-husband #2 (William Dozier). He invites him into his house. He takes him to bars. They get on each other's nerves. They have discussions about who has a cat personality; who is more like a dog. Ex-husband #1 has a great little desk, the kind you might find in a 1940's elementary school, and a laptop computer which he doesn't get to use as he is always interrupted by his needy roommate (ex husband #2, the dog).

The fun in this fresh, fast moving comedy is in the quick editing. JD Shapiro and Dozier narrate the film in the manner of a story teller, but in the course of one sentence, the camera will jump from a diner to the Brooklyn Bridge to a baseball field, the interior of an airplane, and then back to the diner. It's a great technique used to refreshing effect.

Friends and Family
The premise of Kristen Coury's Mafia comedy Friends and Family is great. What if you had a pair of hitmen, Stephen and Danny, and make them gay? What if these two hit men have come out to their parents about their sexual orientation but can't say what they do for a living? So what happens when the parents come into town for a surprise visit? The farce begins, a kind of violent Cage aux Folles, a fairy Godfather. For good measure, the plot throws in the straight sons of the Mafia boss (a cook and a decorator), some Midwestern zealots intent on overthrowing the government, and a well-known senator.

As smoothly produced as Friends and Family comes along, this screwball comedy doesn't quite live up to its potential. As the gay hitmen, Stephen and Danny don't generate much heat, neither as killers, nor as lovers. Director Kristen Coury spoke with delight about being able to make a film where the gayness of the main characters was not central to the story. While I certainly share in this sentiment, I like to see some more chemistry, and actors Tony LoBianco and Greg Lauren are so busy being cool and collected that they lack a certain spark. They don't even share a simple kiss.

That said, there are plenty of laughs in this film. The script delivers the goods, and the result is a comedy you can't refuse. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I really did. No, really.

Thanks NYCFF
Other features in the NYCFF's schedule included Poor White Trash, directed by Michael Addis and starring Sean Young and William Devane, Sponge, Two Months in the Life..., marking Pauly Shore's directorial debut, and Let Me In...I Hear Laughter - A Salute to the Friar's, Dean Ward's documentary about the legendary Friar's club. Atom Films also sponsored a comedy short film competition. For more information about the festival, see their web site and at www.nycff.com.