The problem with reviewing local cinema is that you worry that Billy Garberina might hunt you down and kick your ass for giving him a bad review.
Who is Billy Garberina? He is the writer, co-director, producer and star of the entirely locally made full-length feature: “Collecting Rooftops.” Originally a play at the Theatre X and the venue formerly known as the Riverside Reperatory — now Tricklock — the movie follows the adventures of three college roommates struggling to endure their jobs, school, relationships.
Almost a local, edgy “Clerks,” the film was shot largely in and on top of the now defunct Lobo Theatre, and in several apartments scattered throughout the student ghetto.
Besides the appeal of seeing the inside of the Lobo and the Nob Hill district on the big screen, the true power of the movie lies on the shoulders of Mark Chavez. Chavez plays Max, the roommate of the two main characters Ringo and Dave. Besides being lazy, Max also is a slob, a womanizer and a poor friend — but he’s damn funny.
Chavez’s portrayal of this now clichÇd image of wasted youth is both fresh and vibrant. An active actor throughout Albuquerque’s scene for years, Chavez has entertained as a shining light in various companies in the Albuquerque area. His timing is dead on as he leads through the better-written scenes of the movie.
Most of the other actors appear nervous and uncomfortable in front of the camera. Throughout the movie it becomes apparent that many of the actors would be right at home in a live-theater context as they display formidable acting skills of their own. These skills do not translate to the screen very well as many uncomfortable silences drag the tempo of the movie down.
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Gaberina is a talented and creative writer/director. I saw the live-theater version of “Collecting Rooftops” years ago and came out of the theater clutching my sides, still laughing, with tears in my eyes. The show was brilliantly scripted, directed and performed.
The unfortunate truth of “Collecting Rooftops” in movie form is that it is largely unfocused, forced and significantly self-indulgent. Gaberina’s portrayal of Ringo, the movie’s “Lothario” who goes from senseless womanizing to finally caring about a member of the opposite sex, offers nothing new. In fact, he seems to go down a list of prescribed clichÇs and performs each one in alphabetical order, as shallowly as possible. His several monologues only solidify his overdeveloped self-importance as he plays “himself” and still manages to be unconvincing.
His best friend and seeming opposite, Dave, also offers nothing new in his embodied clichÇ. He is the victimized guy the audience is supposed to sympathize with, yet we have problems remembering his name. The actor is quiet and uncommanding, and though this is arguably in character, he does little with the emotional scenes he does receive.
It seems these characters are so beat down even the audience joins in with its collective apathy.
The “women” in the story appear not so much as women but as mere objectified archetypes. The “slut,” Betty, who is dating Dave, never sleeps with her intended boyfriend, and yet has plenty of conjugal encounters with his roommates and other strangers. The other prominent female is insincere and shallow. We never get to know her and never want to. She is merely the objectified female that Ringo has taken a more than completely sexual interest in.
While this has been done plenty of times before, nothing new is offered.
Even if there was a new look at this tired old story, the audience’s apathy for the characters destroys this possible freshness.
There were more than a couple of laugh-out-loud moments in this movie. Strangely, it seemed that when the movie took a detour from its plot and allowed the actors to digress into non-essential elements, the movie took a lighter and fresher tone. Unfortunately, for this movie to stand a chance at any film festival, these little gems will probably need to be edited out to save what is left of its poor flow.
Collecting Rooftops will be playing at the Guild Theatre at 9:15 p.m. from August 9-15. Call the Guild for details at 255-1848.
