The Good Times Kid

A masterwork of cinematic mood and ambiance. In the family tradition, Jacobs' work keeps us honest (and entertained) in a world of Disney rides on celluloid.

I wanted to like this film, I really did. In the end, it just tried way too hard to be different, and the different wasn't very good.

The Good Times Kid is an ultra low budget film (there was actually a night scene that looked like the director had used long expired film, the quality was so bad). It tried to be some kind of crazy story that should have deep meaning. One guy lives on a boat with more junk laying all over, he can hardly get up and move. He looks like he took a bath maybe a year ago. He gets a letter saying he has to report to military duty, because he enlisted in the army (I think he said something about it being a mistake, but most of his dialog is unintelligible). He goes the recruiting office and meets another guy. He follows him home. At home we find the female lead of the movie living in the horrible dirty squallor three room house. She's kooky, quirky, and unusual. Somehow the lead character decides to follow her around, but never really talks to her. Her boyfriend writes Shoot Here on his chest and just sort of walks around. The only interesting moment in the film, she does this kind of interesting cute dance for our lead male character.

Technically, this film is a total mess. Sound is miserably recorded, most of the dialog cannot be understood. The film stock is just horrible, that awful expired night scene is cut right next to another location at night with perfect film. Gratefully this film is only one hour and 17 minutes long.

The bonus features on the DVD are some of the strangest I have ever witnessed. Although not in evidence or written anywhere, there is a 1950's underground film by a director with the same last name as this director and credited with being the influence for The Good Times Kid. It is possibly the director's father. The film is about 40 minutes of pain and suffering in black and white with frequent dense titles of information. The films have non-synced sound on them, music and dialog. They might have been revolutionary in the 50's but I highly doubt that. There is a short film by the director of a bicycle wheel rolling down a hill.

The film just tries too hard to be different. In the end, it is not good different.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars