From Fest to Screen

Alamo Drafthouse kicks off film distribution with Butthole Surfers doc

Alamo Drafthouse is going bold with the first of its picks for its new festival film distribution initiative.

Photo by Pat Blashil

The Austin-based movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is doing something about the great films that premiere at festivals and never make it to the general public. It's launching Alamo Exclusives, a theatrical distribution program specifically dedicated to getting more eyes on those films across the country for limited runs. The program will start with the South by Southwest-premiered documentary Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt.

The documentary follows the rise and taming of Butthole Surfers, the wild '80s punk band from San Antonio and Austin. The film uses archival footage and interviews to go deep on the many band members over the years and their shock-and-awe performance style.

With gratuitous full-frontal nudity, questionable group ethics, and a penchant for always upping the ante, it's not surprising that this film hasn't become a mainstream hit, but it offers strangely beautiful and loving insight into what makes Austin so weird — and what that cost the people involved. It's an encouraging first choice to prove Alamo Drafthouse is committed to bringing interesting and unique films to light.

Tickets will go on sale July 21 for screenings scheduled for late this summer.

"I’m so grateful that Alamo Drafthouse believes in this film and chose it to kick off the Alamo Exclusives distribution program,” said director Tom Stern in a press release. “I love that Alamo audiences are passionate moviegoers who genuinely embrace great documentaries and independent cinema. Knowing this film will be experienced on big screens by that kind of audience makes this release especially meaningful.”

“Too many incredible films premiere at festivals and then never receive the theatrical life they deserve,” says Lisa Dreyer, director of Alamo's Fantastic Fest and film innovation. “We are actively searching for films across all genres, from horror to comedy, to everything in-between, to champion in this new, exciting way. We're thrilled to launch the program with BUTTHOLE SURFERS: THE HOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUTT, a film that’s bold, entertaining, unapologetically original, and deeply connected to Austin's creative DNA. We couldn't imagine a better film to kick off this new chapter.”

Alamo Exclusives will run titles without distribution from a variety of festivals including Sundance, South by Southwest (SXSW), Tribeca, TIFF, Cannes, Berlin, and Fantastic Fest. Those limited runs will also come with marketing support, and Alamo will work directly with filmmakers to make it happen.

One of Alamo's specialties as a chain is a wide selection of titles; the release says it plays "more movies than any other theater in the world." That includes repertory programming (showing old films), releasing new films in a way that highlights the filmmaker, special events, and more. Alamo Exclusives will fit right in, but they'll be clearly labeled so that they're easy to spot.

More titles will be announced "in the coming months," the release says. Alamo is taking submissions from filmmakers and sales agents via Film Freeway.

“From the very beginning, Alamo Drafthouse has championed independent film and built strong relationships with filmmakers because we know our audiences value discovering great cinema,” says Michael Kustermann, CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. “Time and again, they've shown they'll come out to support bold, original films when given the opportunity. ‘Alamo Exclusives’ is a natural extension of that. It gives us another way to champion filmmaker-driven films that deserve to be discovered and connect them with the wider Alamo Drafthouse audience.”

south by southwest sxsw film film festival movies documentaries music punk music

Movie Review

Star-filled pickleball comedy The Dink aces on Apple TV+

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Mary Steenburgen and Jake Johnson in The Dink.

While the sport of pickleball was invented way back in the 1960s, it has exploded in popularity in the 2020s. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to make a movie about the craze, and a comedy like the new Apple TV+ film The Dink provides the best way to honor and make fun of the divisive sport at the same time.

Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), aka The Hammer, is a former tennis phenom who’s now working as an instructor at a club owned by his dad, Chuck (Ed Harris). While the two don’t always see eye-to-eye, they have a mutual hatred for pickleball, which they have begrudgingly allowed on the property by giving it the worst court.

Dusty is hoping to stop all future pickleball expansion by winning a one-on-one grudge match, but when he injures his wrist, he’s given a prescription of pickleball as a form of rehab. Older women like Candace (Mary Steenburgen) are the only people he can find to play with, and despite his disdain for the sport, he soon falls prey to its low-key charms.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) and written by Sean Clements, the film is probably the best advertisement pickleball will ever have. Dusty’s introduction to the sport serves as a lighthearted tutorial for the uninitiated while still getting in some nice digs at its expense. The other players — Candace, Gail (Cleo King), and Judy (Lynn Marie Stewart) — are equally welcoming and critical of Dusty, who initially has trouble adjusting to the game’s different rules.

The film’s approach to the story is silly but never stupid. Dusty is a blowhard, but he’s also able to admit when he’s wrong, especially when Candace introduces him to multiple things he had never considered before. A long-standing feud between Dusty and Andy Roddick provides more than just a goofy cameo for the real-life tennis star. The film also pushes right to the edge of being over-the-top before pulling back, allowing it to keep a semblance of reality to it.

Clements’ story follows a tried-and-true formula, making the film very predictable but enjoyably so. Where it earns its comedy credentials is in its finer details, like Dusty’s love for his 1999 Buick LeSabre with under 200,000 miles on it, his trunk full of old VHS tapes, or his interactions with his assistant PJ (Aaron Chen), who manages to be the comic relief in an already funny film.

Johnson, probably best known for starring in the sitcom New Girl in the 2010s, has the right amount of smarm and niceness to pull off the role, letting viewers laugh at and root for him at the same time. The film is full of comedy all-stars in small roles like Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Ben Stiller, but Harris steals everyone’s thunder. The line readings by the four-time Oscar nominee give an extra punch to his character’s jokes, especially one that hints at the sordid history of the tennis club.

It’s a shame that The Dink is only playing on a streaming service as there’s a dearth of good comedies like this in movie theaters. With a solid joke-telling approach, a respect for its subject matter, and a cast who all play off each other well, this is a film that deserves to be seen by more than just those with an Apple TV+ subscription.

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The Dink is now streaming on Apple TV+.

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