Saturday, June 23, 2007

The Curiosity of Chance

Imagine a queer John Hughes (Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club) movie, set in an international high school "somewhere in Europe" in the 1980's. That means that the hulking jock bully plays football (soccer) instead of football (American), speaks with a strong Dutch accent, and considers Patrick Swayze the epitome of male sexiness. Chance is the new kid, showing up on the first day of school with a top hat and cane, ensuring his instant alienation from the popular cliques. He gradually finds his element with the other weird kids, including a trip to a local drag club. He even gets friendly (although not nekkid) with the yummy boy next door — the two even pair up for a "battle of the bands" competition. The Curiosity of Chance is quirky, to be sure, and a couple of times it loses its way with over-the-top bizarreness (particularly around the Naziesque bull dyke vice principal), but on the whole it's good fun, memorable, and definitely worth seeing. Not yet announced for DVD release, but playing film festivals in July in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

The Curiosity of Chance, dir. Russell P. Marleau, 2006 USA/Belgium/Philippines, 99 min.

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