Fix (2009)

In the low-budget drama "Fix," Milo - played by Tao Ruspoli, who also directed and co-wrote the film with Jeremy C. Fels - and his girlfriend Bella (Olivia Wilde) are a couple of San Francisco-based filmmakers who are working on a documentary about the prison system in California. But before they can get to the task at hand, they have to drive to LA and get Milo's ne'er-do-well, drug-addict brother, Leo (Shawn Andrews), out of jail and into rehab by 8 in the evening or he'll be sentenced to three years in prison for violating his parole. They also have to find a way, by fair means or foul – mostly foul – of raising the $5,000 they'll need to enroll him in the program. Thus, the three of them race around the greater Los Angeles area, with the hopped-up, smooth-talking Leo finagling money out of some pretty shady and disreputable characters, though spending almost as much cash as he's taking in while doing so.In a sense, Milo and Bella wind up making a documentary anyway – only on a subject different from the one they'd originally intended, one that arises from life as they're living it. We rarely get to see Milo's face on camera, since he spends most of the time filming the action (a la "The Blair Witch Project"). At this point, one either goes with this aggressive, you-are-there, pseudo-documentary style of fictional filmmaking or one doesn't. And, predictably perhaps, the approach, as employed in "Fix," is both dramatically effective and annoyingly distracting in roughly equal measure. The best part about the movie is its off-the-cuff glimpses into various milieus and locales in the LA area. The plot, which takes place over a 12-hour period, does have a spontaneous feel to it at times, though it also tends towards the redundant and attenuated. However, the final third of the film achieves a level of poignancy and artistry one wouldn't expect it to based solely on its earlier stretches.Andrews brings a great deal of kinetic energy and roguish charm to the role of Leo, and Wilde is both poised and alluring as the attractive Bella. In fact, it is Bella's changing reactions to Leo and the world he inhabits that makes her the everyman character in the story who draws us more deeply into the venture than we would ever have gone without her. At first she is disdainful and casually dismissive of Leo; then, as she gets to know him better, her hostility turns to grudging admiration, then tantalizing approval, and, finally, a willingness to become at least partially complicit in his actions, making her in a sense the Bonnie Parker of the piece. The movie observes rather than judges Leo and the people he interacts with, while, at the same time, gently ribbing Milo – and, by extension, the actual filmmakers themselves - for his (and their) obsessive need to record every moment of existence rather than simply living life for its own sweet sake unencumbered by the camera.

"My life's like that accident. You're just slowing down to look."Not bad, not bad at all. Fix is a faux-documentary about a man and his girlfriend's attempt to get his charismatic, junkie brother to rehab by a court-ordered time. It takes place during the course of a single day in and around Los Angeles, and it's shot from the perspective of a hand-held camera that they're using to document the (supposedly simple) trip. Getting Leo to his destination turns out to be a lot more complicated than expected (of course), and we come along with them on the journey. I'll admit that I only watched it because Olivia Wilde was one of the main actors, but it ended up being a pleasant surprise. Visually, Fix is very interesting. The three main characters travel all through Los Angeles, and meet the requisite colorful and interesting characters. The story goes in a lot of different directions, from humor to social awareness to the typical road trip narrative. At times, it's not hard to see this as a real documentary with actual people. There's good chemistry between the actors (understandable, given their connections in real life), and that makes the entire movie easier to buy into.  Fix can be a little preachy and unfocused at times, but that makes sense when you consider that these characters probably would say things that they do to each other.That's not to say that Fix doesn't veer into implausibility, from time to time. There are a few scenes that come off as incredibly inauthentic, and one at the end that was just too ridiculous and over-the-top. Eccentricity is fine, but it can hurt a movie when it's forced.As far as small, independent, low-budget movies go, I've seen a lot worse. I'd recommend this to anyone who has an affinity for that kind of film. If you prefer the gloss and tidy bookends of a more typical movie, you might want to skip Fix.

How does one make a drug movie these days, and not look like he or she is ripping off films like, "Requiem for a Dream", or "Spun". Well a good start is to stylishly shoot the picture from a first person perspective, giving a documentary feel.Fix is really one of the latest takes on the "mocumentary" genera. Films by Christopher Guest come to mind when discussing mocumentaries, and movies like the "Blare Witch Project" defined it's boundaries. The decision to shoot the picture this way allows the audience to immediately connect with the characters, and keep them interested throughout.I liked "Fix" more as a mocumentary than anything else. As a movie about two brothers bonding, it was not as innovative as the spin, it's photographic direction, put on the story being told. The performances are honest, and garner no more criticism than praise. I screened the film in late 2008, and it was a breath of fresh air from the other pictures I was reviewing. I would recommend "Fix" to any movie goer, but especially to the independent movie fan; who will enjoy the picture for it's independent spirit." I am interested in seeing the next film Tao Ruspoli directs, and hope it matches "Fix's" style.

I suppose the "shaky camera" style is there to add a sense of realism. Well, it doesn't. It just makes you think your watching a high school project that was made with the parents Handycam. The entire movie is shot from the storyteller's Point Of View, which is very hard to do well, and in this case it isn't. (Try any episode of Peep Show to see this technique done well). Also annoying was the preposterous situations. Like drug dealers supposedly being "cool" with video taping the transaction and many more like this. The minor characters were almost universally unbelievable and very poorly acted. Most of the dialogue was sparse, uninteresting, and unrealistic. Shawn Andrews is the bright spot and adds a professional touch to an otherwise puerile film.