Buttwhistle (2014)

This movie sucked so much I don't even know where to begin. It honestly has no story at all, and no character development none at all either. I rented this mess of a movie only because Analeigh Tipton was in it and it was not what I thought her character was supposed to be. The acting is OK but there is no story and doesn't go anywhere. The story is really weak and the ending is a total rip off and is a total waste of your money so go burn this instead of watching it OK? This movie currently has a 4.4 on IMDb and it deserves it cause it should be lower. I give Buttwhistle a 2/10 (the extra star is for Analeigh Tipton).

First of all, I have a great appreciation for this film, even though I don't entirely understand it. It has a very unsatisfying ending, however.I can't explain everything, but I'll broach a few of the overall themes I do think I have a handle of ...Beth was abused and neglected; if you watch for it, there are clues to this throughout the movie. In the end, Ogden imagines Beth as the happy daughter of his parents ... he sees that things could have been different for her, that her world and circumstances brought out the worst in her. He tries to bring out the best of people and of himself.The film contrasts love and hate, different ways of looking at and interacting with the world and the people in it. I don't think the message is that we should be like Ogden of the present, or that we should not follow his example, either. I think it's just acknowledging a reality of the world ... that you can't help everyone, and that you will suffer for trying. Ogden knows this. He warns Roadcap, "Yank the thorn out of the critter's foot, doesn't mean he's not gonna eat you." Later, when freeing the parrot, you can see he's afraid of getting pecked by his bird beneficiary. Later yet, Ogden explains that a dog craps on a rug because it's a dog and can't help it, not because of any malice. Ogden understands the risks, the nature of people. He doesn't feel that everyone should take those risks, but he feels that he must "to make (him) feel better about (himself)".Ogden had more hate in his past and made mistakes. He took his anger out on someone who probably didn't deserve it. Rose may have been his savior. Ogden wants to help Beth in the same way that Rose helped him. Ogden sees some of himself in Beth. He acknowledges that he was once "the new kid" too, a point Beth seemed to use as an excuse for her meanness.Bonus: There seems to be an Easter egg in the scene with the Nazi flag hanging above the porch ... in the background there's someone dressed in a purple dinosaur suit. This might be a reference to Trevor Morgan's role in "Barney's Great Adventure".

Awesome movie! On the surface it stands up as an engaging film about good and bad. It has a deeper meaning for cerebral viewers that I will not spoil. The male lead is cast well as a strong, and altruistic man with a world view I will try to duplicate for the rest of my life. The female lead Elizabeth Rice is troubled & sabotages the relationship & her life in a s/m type manner. Her topless sex scene reveals a good long look at heavenly anatomical perfection. The movie on the surface offers two approaches to life & informs younger viewers how to manage life's obstacles. Again, this is symbolic of a deeper meaning which is not necessary to thoroughly enjoy the film. It is eclectic which I almost always appreciate, & I urge people to watch this movie for Ms. Rice's dramatic performance of her career & the relentless optimism of the male lead. Buttwhistle is every bit as good as the title is unique & creative. I rate it 7/10 stars and give it the rare rating of a film I will always remember & one that impacts my life from this day forward. Enjoy. I sure did! Knox D. Alford, III

As a reviewer, I try to judge films by young filmmakers a bit differently than I'd judge a big-time Hollywood project. This is because I don't want to discourage these newbies and I am sure it's very, very hard work to make a movie. However, I am really stumped with Buttwhistle, as I cannot come up with much that I liked about the film— and I really wanted to like the film. With a title like this, I was hoping it would be strange. It was, but not in an enjoyable or funny way.The movie DID start off amazingly well—with an opening scene with a telemarketer that made me laugh. And, the opening credits were amazing— some of the best and most inventive I've ever seen. The credits are apparently done by someone or some business called 'Ring of Fire'—and I definitely want to see more of their work. But it was all downhill after that and had little to do with the movie that followed.Ogden is an eternal optimist when it comes to people. He seems to like everyone—even people who are not very likable. He's also incredibly kind. But, when he saves a young girl who appears to be ready to kill herself, he befriends Beth. This is understandable. But what isn't understandable is what follows. Beth is a thoroughly hateful and horrible person and anyone with a brain larger than a pigeon's would avoid her like the plague. Apparently Ogden has a brain smaller than a pigeon because he hangs around this awful person throughout the movie. Even when he discovers that she's destroying his things and hurting people, he inexplicably maintains his great mood and relationship with her. It continues like this and the film is very frustrating because there just doesn't seem to be any point to this…it's just vicious and practically plot-less.Apart from having a confusing and irrational theme, the film irritated me to no end because it was obvious that the screenwriter was writing inside jokes to make himself laugh*. In fact, the entire film seemed like a giant inside joke with no concern whatsoever for the audience's enjoyment. Additionally, I found the film raunchy and filled with a lot of material inappropriate for teens—yet this seems to be the intended audience for the film. Rarely have I been left this confused and unsatisfied by a film. Choppy edits and underdeveloped characters and a meandering plot didn't help.*Here are a few of the inside jokes: 1. A neighbor is named Angus Blancmange. This is taken from a Monty Python episode about an alien invasion. I knew this and the writer knew this…but who else would?! 2. Ogden also goes by two names he's made up—Buttwhistle and the sound made by blowing an air horn. When folks call him, they blow the horn. This gets old very, very quickly. 3. The head explosion. Neat but irrelevant—even though there were references on the news concerning this later in the film. 4. CONSTANT hipster talk. Please, enough already. No one REALLY talks that way…and if they do, I hate them—and most would as well. 5. Impossible to believe or like characters abound. Again, shouldn't there be an attempt to get the audience to like someone?!