Double Dare (2004)

What a great movie! These two women, Jeannie Epper and Zoe Bell, are some awesome ladies and the movie is truly inspiring. It's great that a movie like this exists for people, like me, to get a hint of what life is like for women in an underrated career such as the one of hard working talented stunt women. They are a talented few who represent the bigger picture of what it's like to be a woman in a career that is male based. Miss Jeannie and Miss Zoe make it possible for us to believe the danger that exists in the stories written for two of the most strongest woman heroes on TV. They help us feel what is happening to the characters they play, and since it's their job not to get noticed, and they do their job so well, it's easy to not realize that these stunt women doubles exist! So again, I am very happy to have seen this film about them. They are great!

This movie completely blew me away--and I'm not easily impressed. It is so much fun and so joyful and inspiring, especially to women. I'd highly recommend it to anyone. I saw it at the Independent Fim Festival of Boston in 2004 and it was such a thrill to see it with a sold-out crowd and have the crowd be so deeply into it the whole way through. It's impossible not to fall in love with Zoe Bell, the younger of the two stunt women featured--but on seeing it for a second time I was even more impressed with Jeannie Epper, the 64-year- old grandma who is still doing stunts and whose kids and grandkids are carrying on the tradition. Also for Tarantino and Xena fans the scenes involving the Xena shoots and the Kill Bill auditions are delightful. And I was moved by the joy and passion these two women--and Amanda, the director--bring to their work. Rock on!

I had the pleasure of seeing this film at Toronto's International Film Festival in 2004. Not only was I impressed by the film, but so were the two guys I saw it with. "I'm a guy, and I feel empowered!" is what one of them said to Zoe as we scrambled after the Q&A session to get autographs. That is easiest way for me to sum up how that film made everyone I knew feel that saw it. It is a documentary that, because of it's pacing, feels like an action feature. This film was able to get across to the audience how truly important the role of a stunt double, female or otherwise, is. I would recommend this film to anyone and hope that it gets picked up soon for release onto DVD.On a side note: Thank you to all the cast and crew my friends and I met at the film festival for being so kind and gracious to a group of flustered film students. Especially Amanda Micheli for giving us posters and letting us borrow her Sharpie.

I had the pleasure of attending the Castro Theater's advanced screening of the film with members of Bay Area Women in Film and Television and we couldn't be prouder of what local director Micheli and her team have achieved! DOUBLE DARE is woman power to the extreme and is the kind of film that let's you leave the theater feeling ready to leap buildings in a single bound or ask that overbearing male director that you have been working for to pay you the money you're worth and give you the credit you deserve. Thanks for celebrating 2 real Hollywood heros, I hope this film takes Zoe Bell, both of the Eppers, the crew and Amanda Micheli as far up the Hollywood food chain as they want to go!!