[yasr_overall_rating]
David and Brenda are perfect for each other, and everyone knows it except David and Brenda. After they break up, due to mutual immaturity, they voyage through a romantic Purgatory that shakes both of them to their core, until they realize what’s apparent, and work out a design for being together that they refuse to call “being together.”
“In Stereo,” the independent film from Mel Rodriquez III, follows David (Micah Hauptman) and Brenda (Beau Garrett) as they wind their way through New York City’s art scene after breaking up. David has moved in with a new girlfriend, the young and emotionally immature Jennifer (Melissa Bolona). Brenda, meanwhile, has spent her time trying to diva her way into and out of a promising acting career.
At its heart, “In Stereo” is a one hour and thirty minute conversation about the intricacies of contemporary relationships set to a killer jazz soundtrack with a few neat split screens mixed in for fun. Unfortunately, most of the conversation falls flat. It touches on the basic obstacles to longevity in relationships, but never spends enough time in one place delving into the material to gain any momentum until the third act. The film’s director makes a mistake in focusing on the wrong part of the story.
The opening scene finds David and Brenda a happy couple until the subject of moving in together is brought up. The chemistry between Micah Hauptman and Beau Garrett palpitates on screen but then the movie cuts forward eighteen months after the couple has broken up, and it loses its momentum as David becomes the sole focus for much of the film. An out of place bit of narration early on in the action bolsters this idea. Hauptman is a capable actor who spits dialogue with confidence and believability, but the movie really isn’t about his character. While it focuses lots of time on the other relationships around him, the real payoff comes in the form of his ex-girlfriend, Brenda. When the two of them take the screen together, the audience sees some real magic.
David’s interactions with other characters lay out the cynical take on relationships that mirrors the current trend among thirty-something hipsters. Monogamy is a relic, and marriage is dead. Rodriquez, who also penned the screenplay, gives us a series of conversations that fit together to drive home those points. That so much of the script relies on characters talking with one another hampers the film’s ability to flow. The words fall out like a waterfall, at times making clear and salient points, but more often seeming flat and repetitive. I found myself wondering if I’d heard the same conversation five minutes ago but with another character involved. In the first third of the film, the audience gets one interesting revelation and a lot of talk until focus switches to Brenda’s life.
Micah Hauptman delivers a suitably mixed performance as David. His character has to hold the film together, and Hauptman does so nicely. As I watched him stride across the screen, I was reminded of a young Billy Crystal. I’m not saying Hauptman rises to that level, but his style fits the mold. He infuses David with equal parts denial, insecurity, and regret, all hidden under a veil of time worn apathy. Somehow, through it all, he manages to wear a smile and play the “easy going guy” part well. Hauptman easily grasps the subtleties needed to convey these conflicting emotions throughout the film. As we watch David gain self-awareness and confidence, Hauptman sets us up for some rewarding moments near the end of the film.
Beau Garrett absolutely brightens every scene she’s in. Her Brenda shares many of David’s insecurities and self-loathing, but she handles it by letting out her bitchy diva. She’d had a role hosting a reality TV show, but couldn’t handle how menial it felt. Now, she’s relegated to STD commercials and whatever local theater she can pick up. She’s not even the hottest girl in her acting class anymore. Garrett holds perfect command of the screen and her chemistry with Hauptman keeps the movie from boring its audience all the way out of the theater and back home. But she elevates Brenda in the opening scene and then later again in the film, when we find her bitter and angry with everyone in the business. She remains sympathetic throughout and becomes the most important person in David’s life before either of them realize it. It’s a role that could have slipped into Rom-Com stereotype, but Garrett makes Brenda a fully four dimensioned character with heart and soul.
The supporting cast delivers fairly unremarkable performances, with Melissa Bolona’s Jennifer getting the most important screen time. She does a fine job playing the immature and spoiled young woman who can’t stop going through life as if it’s one big sorority event. Kieran Campion seems to sleepwalk through the film as David’s less than perfect best friend. Aimee Mullins and Mario Cantone are agents who serve mostly to prop up David and Brenda’s careers and offer an occasional bit of tough love and sage advice. The one exception is Sean Cullen as David’s frustrated therapist, Dr. Sean Garrett.
“In Stereo”’s description as romantic comedy doesn’t capture what you should expect when you walk into the theater. I think lighthearted drama fits the overall feeling I experienced when I watched it. It’s full of moments to dull the sharp edges, but its jokes serve more to reinforce the melancholy David has himself mired in for much of the film. I only laughed once, but that moment of levity was short lived.
The soundtrack bursts with a combination of jazz sounds blending perfectly with the action. You’ll find yourself moving with the joyous riffs keeping the mood upbeat and neatly accentuating scene transitions and split screens. When the mood quiets, the music slips into the background with quiet jazz setting the stage for contemplation and emotion. These quiet moments, where the music draws us into the scene and the camera lets us see David or Brenda at their most vulnerable, tell us more about each character and their true desires than any of the conversations ever could. Some might make the argument that the songs overwhelm the dialogue in some scenes, but I found in them one of the film’s major strengths.
“In Stereo” has its moments and will reward those patient enough to watch through to the end. For all the cynicism and denial it carries, the film has the courage to question where all that negativity gets you.
In theaters and on VOD July 3
