A LITTLE FAMILY DRAMA

Movies frequently highlight dysfunctional families to explore the intricacies of human relationships, and the chaos within families can make for some great comedy. That is the premise of A Little Family Drama by writer/director Nadia Zoe, which centers on the multi-generational Mexican American family, the Sepulvedas. The story revolves around a family reunion dinner that’s happening for the first time since they lost their beloved patriarch. The Sepulvedas’ matriarch Anselma, aka Abuela (Alma Martinez), constantly butts heads with her daughter Victoria (Romi Davis) about everything, especially concerning what the dinner’s last dish should be. It all comes down to a battle between trying something fresh and sticking with tradition.

It’s one of the rare indie films with a hilariously memorable opening featuring an AI-driven Tacomatic that goes awry. Think of the chaos involving Enforcement Droid 209 in Robocop, but swap the blood with taco sauce. Victoria’s entrepreneur-minded son Matias’ (Ramon O. Torres) miscalculation about the success of his taco truck puts the family restaurant at risk when Anselma agrees to take out a hefty loan using it as collateral. All of that is an addition to the underlying conflict brimming between Victoria and her dutiful daughter Cecelia (Diana Torres), which is made worse as all of them live under one roof!

The premise reminds me a bit of This Is Where I Leave You which also centers on a dysfunctional family living together in one big house after the patriarch’s funeral. This movie might not have big-name stars, but it definitely shines with its genuine representation of family and a true reflection of its cultural background. I love that it incorporates Mexican traditional dishes such as sweet bread Conchas and soup dish Pozole, which makes for some of the riotous comedic moments as the madness reaches its breaking point.

My biggest quibbles with this one are some of the unconvincing performances that at times make me cringe. There are also awkward moments that don’t work too well, and unnecessary comedic bits that try too hard, but overall things still gel together well to make an impact by the end.

Pakistani American filmmaker Nadia Zoe does a great job in her feature debut. While there are a few mature themes sprinkled throughout, the overall vibe of A Little Family Drama is family-friendly, mixing together all the family-related themes to explore trust, tradition, empathy, and acceptance.

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THE ACTIVATED MAN

The Activated Man follows Ors Gabriel (Jamie Costa) who, after heartbreakingly losing his dog Louis to cancer, begins seeing a terrifying man in a dark, wide-brimmed hat everywhere. He soon learns from his neighbor Jeffrey (Tony Todd), a sort of psychic counselor, that the trauma of Louis’s loss activated an ability in Ors to see things from different planes of existence- both good and bad.

My main takeaway from this movie is “great concept, messy execution.” The idea that the afterlife isn’t as simple as just “Heaven and Hell” and that ghosts and demons are better explained as positive and negative energy is truly interesting, and I wish it had been fleshed out better. The film is nearly two hours long, so it’s not as if they didn’t have time for it, but some scenes could have been cut down or completely removed in service of exploring those ideas more and leaving a few more breadcrumbs leading to a big reveal about Jeffrey and Ors’s absent father Laszlo’s (Kane Hodder) past, rather than info-dumping it all toward the end of the movie.

Such messiness might be made more palatable if it were performed by an exceptional cast, but that’s a mixed bag as well. Tony Todd (best known for his role as Candyman) is easily the standout; he’s so charismatic and has such a commanding presence. Ivana Rojas also gives a warm, likable performance as Sarah Reeve, Ors’s police detective girlfriend. But Jamie Costas as the leading man gives a pretty wooden performance throughout, save for the moments of grief over losing his dog, which feel so genuine I actually teared up a couple times. And while I know this might make some of my fellow horror fans mad, there is a reason Kane Hodder is most famous for his role as Jason Voorhees, a completely silent character; his monologuing toward the end of this movie made me physically cringe.

It’s been a couple days since I watched this movie, and I’m still struggling to decide if I would recommend it. I will say if you’re coping with the death of a beloved pet, The Activated Man is actually a comforting watch and has some lovely thoughts on what happens to our furry friends after they leave us. You just have to deal with a poorly-paced plot about some higher-concept ideas to get to them.

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What are your thoughts on either one of these movies?

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