It's a Disaster (2012)

Lexi Kivel: "Why were you looking for mouthwash at his apartment?"

By Todd Berger
With David Cross, America Ferrera and Julia Stiles

I came across this movie and thought it looked interesting because first of all, I love end-of-the-world stuff. It tends to make life seem more meaningful and brings out a different side to people. Then I realized this film seems to be an indie comedy, and since I hadn't seen any in quite a while, I decided to watch this.

The movie starts off with a couple in a car who are invited for "couples brunch". Tracy is bringing her most recent date, Glenn. The hosts are Emma and Pete who actually decided to get a divorce but are waiting to tell their friends once the brunch is over. Then there's Shane and Hedy. Shane is a total geek and Hedy is a chemistry teacher who have been engaged for 6 years but aren't decided on when to get married. The last couple is Buck and Lexi, two wild party-goers living within their very open relationship and playing in a band. As Shane needs to check eBay for a comic book auction and the men wants to see the score of the game, they realize the TV and internet aren't working. After much debate and pondering, a neighbor knocks at the door, in a full hazmat suit, telling them that there have been chemical bombs released nearby.

It's a Disaster made me laugh a lot. It's not so much the irony of the situation, but in those hypothetical last moments, four couples stuck together can really do damage, or try to repair it. I found the dialogues very cleverly written and it kept me both interested and amused the whole time. The characters are all quite stereotypical but it didn't cause such a problem as I felt they were all believable characters. The absurdity of the chemical event combined with the different personalities made the witty remarks and random happenings really shine through. It is definitely not the typical disaster movie-- in fact, there is very little we know about the actual disaster, which puts us in the same situation as the characters as they are mostly in the dark about their fate.

The movie doesn't hold any spectacular feature or fanciness, but it is well thought and well written through and through, with funny characters, which is exactly what a comedy needs to feel fresh. As much as I tend to be picky about comedies, this one worked for me.

I liked: Mysterious disaster. Good characters development. Funny.

I disliked: Relationships and stereotypes driven sense of humor, which is ok, but goes in a single direction.

72/100
A fun little indie comedy which has the merit of originality.