Depressing Bay Area Movie Hits Sundance

The Hollywood stars donning Ugg boots and designer parkas in an attempt to look rustic for the paparazzi at the Sundance Film Festival this month will be joined by a Bay Area director with a film set in your backyard, "Everything Strange and New."  

Ok, we haven't actually seen this movie -- I suppose in Sundance circles the correct term is "film"  -- but from the synopsis on its website, we can surmise this baby isn't going to be the feel-good film of the year. (Something about that dude staring at the top of a roof says "downer.") It's about a man burned out with crazy kids, an unraveling wife, "submerged mortgage," and a just-divorced friend. In short, "an intimate portrait of ordinary people and their longing for certainty in uncertain times." 

Even the film's press flack, who's job description generally includes putting a postive spin on everything, called it "gloomy."

No escapist fantasies will be entertained here. In an interview with indieWIRE:, Bay Area-based director Frazer Bradshaw -- who says he started his craft under the tutelage of experimental filmmakers at the San Francisco Art Institute -- says the inspiration for the tale came from his own life:

"It became more and more obvious, as I conceived the piece and reflected on the circumstances the story deals with, that being a middle class American is an infinitely more complex experience than it's given credit for, especially during the current time."

While is will be premiering at Sundance -- check out the line-up here -- the press flack was optimistic (for once!) about the chances it will be picked up by a distributer and hit local theaters so you can check it out. That is, if your own unemployed, sub-prime mortgaged ass can fish enough coins from under your couch cushions for a ticket.