Glitch - 2015

 Directed by Daniel Doherty II. Cinematography by Roberto Ricci and Marco Materassi.
'Glitch' is one of those movies where I remind myself this isn't a Paramount Pictures production. It's not a Disney production. A film like 'Glitch' is the kind of project born out of a majuscule passion only a starving artist can muster. There's a lot to like about the writing, especially when the dialogue is really flowing between characters. At it's best it reminds me of 'Man Seeking Woman'.
Or course this blog is dedicated to everything else which comprises a film. And in this way 'Glitch' looks the same as one hundred other indie comedies floating aimlessly on Netflix.

About half way through I got the feeling 'Glitch' was originally intended to be a T.V. series. The editing of a movie between scenes should tell us about the film and usually attempts to be seamless and invisible. But on T.V. shows they usually cut to the outside of building to let you know we are starting a new scene and we are in this location.
Below we have an example of the T.V. style editing. A scene breaks and this exterior shot hangs around for a second.

I was waiting for the shows theme music to play over the shot. And when they aren't using exterior shots, they use little bits of animation like the picture in the beginning of the review.

This editing choice is designed to give a buffer between the laugh to close out a scene and the beginning of a new one. This way the audience doesn't laugh through the next line of dialogue. But 'Glitch' didn't cut on jokes. Or if they did I didn't notice. 
Below I took clips from a joke sequence.

It reminded me of those Screech gags from 'Saved by the Bell' when he would be running with bucket of water or something.

And they would totally telegraph what was about to happen.

And when he tripped and spilled the water everywhere you cringed cause it was so embarrassingly stupid and obvious.

And I'd wonder was were the writers this dumb or did they think the audience was this dumb?
Here I broke down a scene from 'House of Cards' where Robin Wright did a fantastic job directed a phone call scene. She was able to connect the characters and make it feel intimate even though they were in separate places. Below we have a complete failure to that effect. Both characters eye-lines aim off screen, making them come off as disinterested. There's nothing in the shots to connect the two, leading to a scene which is unsatisfying emotionally.

Below is another example of the sitcom influence as we have a very 'Seinfeld' driving sequence.

Ever notice the side characters in all these indie movies are the ones who display a true joie de vivre? How about making a movie about this person? Danny, played by Lamorne Morris, had something. He really owned the screen whenever he was on it and would have been an interesting character to follow.
Take it or leave it.