Writer/director/actor Ari Gold has made a competent student film that would graduate him from any film school with flying colors--that's to say, here is an example of a filmmaker who hasn't yet begun to find his own voice.
Adventures of Power (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:4
Rotten:12
Average Rating:3.6/10
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: A twentysomething misfit dedicates his life to becoming a drummer--even when the drums are only imaginary--in this comedy written and directed by comic Ari Gold. Power (Gold) grew up in a small... A twentysomething misfit dedicates his life to becoming a drummer--even when the drums are only imaginary--in this comedy written and directed by comic Ari Gold. Power (Gold) grew up in a small mining town in New Mexico, where his father (Michael McKean) always imagined his son would one day join him in digging copper from the earth. But Power has a dream of playing the drums, and since he doesn't have a drum kit, he's become a master of "air drums," flailing his arms in the manner of Neil Peart or Keith Moon against a huge but nonexistent set of traps. Power's desire to become the world's greatest air drummer doesn't earn him much respect at home, so he travels to Mexico, where he learns of an air-drumming competition in Newark, New Jersey. Power hits the road for the Garden State and meets Carlos (Steven Williams), a master air-drummer who becomes his guide in the art of not really playing. Power also gets some much-needed encouragement from Annie (Shoshannah Stern), a sweet born-again girl living upstairs from him. But when Power learns that his father back home is leading a strike to save jobs for the employees at the local copper mine, winning the title becomes a matter of defending the honor of his family and his hometown, and he dedicates himself to defeating arrogant country-music star Dallas Houston (Adrien Grenier), who is favored to win. ADVENTURES OF POWER also stars Jane Lynch, Travis Johns, and Jimmy Jean-Louis. [More]
Starring: Ari Gold, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, Chiu Chi-ling
Starring: Ari Gold, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, Chiu Chi-ling, Shoshannah Stern, Adrian Grenier, Travis Johns, Steven Williams, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Nina Gold
Director: Ari Gold
Director: Ari Gold
Screenwriter: Ari Gold
Producer: Andrea Sperling
Composer: Ethan Gold
Studio: Variance Films
Reviews for Adventures of Power
It's not the rough edges that bother here; it's the desperate attempt to capture Napoleon Dynamite's success by relying on oddball characters and off-the-wall scenarios.
The film's penchant for dorky nostalgia -- especially '70s and '80s-era music -- quickly becomes irritating. It deserves a real tongue-lashing for trying to re-introduce the inexplicable Mr. Mister hit "Kyrie" into the American consciousness.
So would-be hip it hurts, Adventures of Power is barely watchable, despite the presence of such pros as Michael McKean and Jane Lynch.
Not even the always reliable talents of McKean and Lynch can help pull this comedy out of its ironic slump.
The film -- despite some successful goofs and a defiantly dorky Phil Collins tribute -- can't quite win for trying.
Your enjoyment of Adventures of Power will be proportional to your tolerance for the one-joke phenomenon of air drumming.
With its quirky costume and production design choices, self-indulgent pic gives Wes Anderson haters an easy new target.
Gold attempts to show Power as a "Napoleon Dynamite"-like charmer, but Gold's spastic performance induces more cringes than smiles.
Forgive the film its Napoleon Dynamite overquirk; a loving god is watching all, genuflected to on bedroom-wall posters and seen in the film’s final five minutes -- and if you’re not a Rush fan, this is not your movie.
For all the cheap shots in Gold’s script, Adventures of Power views air-drumming with a surprising affection.
The playful plot with go-figure ending is bubbly, and the mechanics of the film are on-point for the most part.
Gold places his fond comedy in the '80s with all the cinematic skill of early MTV.
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