reel cool

Inspirational Houston film festival puts the spotlight on inclusion

ReelAbilities Houston Film Festival puts the spotlight on inclusion.

Photo courtesy of JFS Houston

The annual ReelAbilities Film Festival is a continent-wide salute to people with disabilities, using film and other creative means to shine a light on their stories and their talents. Fourteen cities in the U.S. and Canada — including Houston — will put on ReelAbilities fests throughout the year.

The Houston festival, organized by the Alexander Institute for Inclusion, began February 12 with the ReelArt preview and continues through February 22. Most events are free and take place at the Edwards Greenway Grand Palace Stadium 24 & RPX, where patrons can experience the inspirational, uplifting films that will be unspooled. Here are four reasons to tune into this inclusive Houston film festival:

The movies, of course
Seventeen features and shorts, coming from the U.S. and all over the globe, will screen at this year’s fest. The U.S.-made documentary Swim Team (7 pm, February 18), about a competitive swim team which consists of teens on the autism spectrum, will serve as this year’s opening-night film. There will also be a premiere screening of Blind Date (4 pm, February 20), a documentary that follows three blind New Yorkers as they look for love in the age of Tinder and OKCupid. As for the shorts, they will show up in two blocks: a family-friendly matinee before Mental Health Night (1 pm, February 19) and a matinee on the fest’s last day (4 pm, February 22).

The speakers
The festival will have a trio of speakers for the Up Abilities kickoff event (7 pm, February 15), which will be held at HCC West Loop South. Hearing-impaired singer-songwriter (and America’s Got Talent finalist Mandy Harvey is scheduled to start things off with a talk called "Hope, Dream, Believe, No Matter What…" Then, businessman and self-advocate Joseph JB Bensmihen, who was born with cerebral palsy, will step up to the mic for his talk titled "Taking Your Place at the Table." Finally, Dublin-based entrepreneur/adventurer Caroline Casey will close things out with "You Don’t Need Eyes to See — You Need Vision."

The kid stuff
Kids will also be able to take part in the ReelAbilities festivities. Throughout the week at the Children’s Museum of Houston, there will be ReelChildren screenings of films, including free, family-night screenings on February 15 and 22, from 5-8 pm. There will also be a Sensory Friendly Day (10 am-3 pm, February 19; $5 and free for members), where children on the spectrum with sensory processing disorders can check out the museum.

The live music
On the final night of the festival, local musicians, including sax man Kelly Dean and keyboardist Andrew Lienhard, will host an all-inclusive jazz and blues jam at White Oak Music Hall (7 pm, February 22), where musicians with disabilities are welcome to get onstage and join the pros. It’s a fitting finale to this festival, as people with disabilities are encouraged to tap into their creative skills.

---

ReelAbilities Houston Film Festival runs through February 22. Opening event, "Up Abilities," takes place February 15, and film screenings run February 18-22.

festivals movies

Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

---

Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

movies film

reel cool

Inspirational Houston film festival puts the spotlight on inclusion

Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Houstonians will get the royal treatment at this lively new steakhouse

New owner of Texas Renaissance Festival revealed in our top 5 stories

Houston's new Napa Valley-inspired restaurant sets opening date