WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Ah, the wonders of group therapy. Honestly, it is normally a huge help to those attending, designed to bring each individual back into balance while relating to others experiencing similar difficulties. Yes, it is a time of complete harmony and—oh, wait a second–is this the Communications Workshop conducted by one Dr. Wolfgang Deedle? Actually–I think I have somewhere else to be! While he may be a fanatastic psychologist, Wolfgang Deedle (Dan Smolla) has a slight quirk–a very active imagination and tendency to let his daydreaming take over even his waking hours. But, in a particular group session with his primary patients, his utilization of a visualization technique begins to take a rather abrupt and freakish turn.
The group, made up of psychic wanna be Venusha (Kylan Conroy), a cross-dressing man (John B. Boss) with his dog Skippy, anger-prone Maxwell (Dean Hacker), oddball Jilly (Shana Weinstein), and awkward Carmello (Jeff Henderson), is so random, chaotic, and off-kilter during Wolfgang’s attempts to talk with them, he finally teaches them all to visualize as a way to deal with their issues. While these fantasies seem therapeutic, fun, and wild, all become so adept at them, reality begins to become a thing of the past. Meanwhile, another patient of Wolfgang’s, beautiful Lisa (Misti Patrella), the ultimate focus of his daydreams, desires, and visualizations, is soon entangled in his reveries as well, even as she deals with her own personal baggage.
But when the actuality of his constant visualizations begins to catch up with his real life situations, Wolfgang must begin making real choices about how exactly to handle his existence most beneficially.
Next, my Mind:
Writer/Director/Producer/Lead Actor Dan Smolla’s feature length indie effort is quite honestly a tour de force of unconventional, offbeat, idiosyncratic, oddball fun that manages to delve into concepts like Zen meditation and other psychological healing paths while engaged in the aforementioned eccentricities the characters have and/or experience. The visualization sequences will leave you laughing out loud or scratching your head in a confused delirium, as soon the entire notion of what is real and not real becomes quite blurred. And it is this slightly crazed state of things that most definitely sets the film apart from standard fare, venturing into the kind of unorthodox comedy one might find in a Wes Anderson film.
Smolla as Deedle is one entertaining exercise in unusual behavior, which works perfectly for this character. His trips in and out of visualization are so frequent and wacky, one wonders how the real world ever comes back into play for him! Conroy’s cute-as-a-button but out there Venusha is a complete riot especially in the therapy session, as is Boss’ cross-dresser who actually believes it’s his/her dog that’s there for the therapy. Hacker’s “hacked”-off Maxwell is funny with his intense desire not to be a part of it all with his anger issues, Weinstein’s Jilly is a husband-stealing, yet religion proclaiming, bit of silliness, and Henderson’s confused Carmello enjoys some fun screen time as well.
But ultimately, this is Deedle and Lisa’s show, and Patrella simply looks like she must have relished every dysfunctional moment her character had navigating the funky seas of visualization and Deedle’s daydreaming advances towards her, despite the crisis her own life is in. So many other supporting cast members, including Elena Chernyakova, Rafal Cwiok, Visweswara Durga, Christopher Kahler, Mike Pusateri, Charles Ramsey, and Joette Waters all have great moments in here as well, truly being the massive ensemble piece this film is. Overall, “Wolfgang Deedle” may not be for everyone, but make no mistake that fans of the Anderson or Coen Brothers style of wacky, irregular, mildly irreverent comedy will enjoy this crazy romp through the mind-bending, Zen-filled world created here.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
