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Wah Do Dem
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Wikipedia article
'Wah Do Dem' is an American independent film directed by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner in 2009 and released in 2010.
The major roles are played by Kevin Bewersdorf, Sean "Bones" Sullivan (of Brooklyn band Sam Champion), and Carl Bradshaw, who played Jose in the 1972 film 'The Harder They Come'.
Plot
Brooklyn slacker Max wins two tickets for a Caribbean cruise but ends up travelling alone after being dropped by his girlfriend, Willow. The trip coincides with the 2008 US election, which is won by Barack Obama. After docking in Jamaica a series of misfortunes sees him travelling across the country where he meets several characters, including musicians and a mystic Rastaman.
Cast
*Sean Bones as Max
*Norah Jones as Willow
*Carl Bradshaw as 'Mystic Man'
*Kevin Bewersdorf as 'the creepy guy on the cruise ship'
*Mark Gibbs as Juvi
*Christopher Palmer (also known by Mr. Lexx/Lexxus, singer/rapper/artist)
*Ira-Wolf Tuton
*Patrick Morrison
*Sheena Irons
*The Congos as themselves
Production
The film was directed and written by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner, and contains a cameo by Norah Jones and a live performance by The Congos.Catsoulis, Jeannette (2010) "[http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/movies/18wah.html?_r=0 Wah Do Dem (What They Do) (2009): Seeking Excitement in Jamaica]", 'The New York Times', June 17, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013
'Wah Do Dem' was made after Chace won two cruise tickets in real life and bought more for Bones and Bewersdorf in order to make the film.Bitel, Anton "[http://www.film4.com/reviews/2009/wah-do-dem Wah Do Dem]", Film 4. Retrieved 11 August 2013 He arranged for co-producer Katina Faye Hubbard to meet them in Jamaica, where the film was completed. Filming lasted three weeks in total.
The film features music by MGMT, Yeasayer, Santigold, Suckers, Mykal Rose, Mr. Lexx and The Congos. Ira Wolf Tuton of Yeasayer and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT also appear in the film.Breihan, Tom (2010) "[https://pitchfork.com/news/38760-mgmt-yeasayer-suckers-members-appear-in-new-movie-wah-do-dem/ MGMT, Yeasayer, Suckers Members Appear in New Movie Wah Do Dem]", Pitchfork Media, May 12, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013"[https://www.nme.com/news/mgmt/51117 MGMT, Yeasayer, Norah Jones appear in new film 'Wah Do Dem']", 'NME', May 18, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013
Reception
The film has a Metacritic score of 54."[https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wah-do-dem Wah Do Dem]", Metacritic. Retrieved 11 August 2013 'The New York Times' called it a "shaggy road movie about relinquishing your comforts to find your bliss", while the 'New York Post' described it as "slight but satisfying".Musetto, V.A. (2010) "Tale of Broken Hipster", 'New York Post', June 18, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Sheri Linden of 'The Hollywood Reporter' described the film as "a misadventure narrative, told via verite-style guerrilla filmmaking", and called it a "dynamic portrait of Jamaica".Linden Sheri (2009) "[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-wahdowem-idUSTRE55O09M20090625 "Wah Do Dem" a dynamic portrait of Jamaica]", 'The Hollywood Reporter' (via Reuters), June 24, 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Slant magazine gave it three stars out of four, calling it "a brief, peripatetic love letter to Jamaican tropes scrawled on hemp stationary [sic]".Lanthier, Joseph Jon (2010) "[https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/wah-do-dem/4862 Film Review: Wah Do Dem]", Slant magazine, June 13, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 'Total Film' gave it three stars out of five, with Kevin Harley describing it as "stylish, observant, fitfully funny and laced with promise".Harley, Kevin (2010) "[http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/wah-do-dem Reviews: Wah Do Dem]", 'Total Film', September 14, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Rob Nelson, reviewing the film for 'Variety', described it as "slight but winning and often funny".Nelson, Rob (2009) "[https://variety.com/2009/film/reviews/wah-do-dem-2-1200477469/ Review: Wah Do Dem]", 'Variety', November 11, 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Derek Malcolm, writing for the 'London Evening Standard', viewed the film as "impossible not to like".Malcolm, Derek (2010) "[https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/film/wah-do-dem-is-a-happy-holiday-in-jamaica-7421352.html Wah Do Dem is a happy holiday in Jamaica]", 'London Evening Standard', August 27, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013
'The Guardian' reviewer Peter Bradshaw gave it two stars out of five, calling it "a pretty self-indulgent personal project, sketchily conceived and not particularly well acted".Bradshaw, Peter (2010) "[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/aug/26/wah-do-dem-review Wah Do Dem]", 'The Guardian', 26 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 Aaron Hillis of 'The Village Voice' called it a "glorified vacation video".Hillis, Aaron (2010) "[http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-15/film/norah-jones-mgmt-yeasayer-wah-do-dem/full/ Norah Jones, MGMT, and Yeasayer Walk Into a Movie -- Why, Wah Do Dem, Why?]", 'The Village Voice', June 15, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013 'The Boston Globe' writer Wesley Morris gave the film one star out of five, opining that the directors "don't open any dramatic or emotional door".Morris, Wesley (2010) "[https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/06/26/wah_do_dem_gets_lost_and_goes_nowhere/ Movie Review: Wah Do Dem]", 'The Boston Globe', June 26, 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2013
'Wah Do Dem' won the Jury Award for 'Best Narrative Feature' at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival."[http://2010.lafilmfest.com/archive/2009/ LA-Film-Festival-Website, as seen on Jan 11,2011] " It has been described as a "mumblecore" film.
DVD release
The film was released on DVD by Factory 25 in October 2010.
See also
*List of American films of 2009
References
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