MINI, THE - DVD review

If you've never heard of "The Mini," it's not your fault. This 2007 film has been flying so low under the radar that it's tunneling underground even as you read this. But it seems to be building a bit of a following there and drawing comparisons to films like "Clerks," Kevin Smith's 1994 low-budget indie debut.

I'm not sure that's a fair comparison, though. For one thing, Smith thought (and I agree) that "Clerks" has been over-rated and overly praised--which is what often happens to films that achieve cult status. "The Mini" probably won't make it as a full-fledged cult classic because it's not nearly as edgy or original as Smith's "Clerks." That's because while Smith's film has the feel of a film student's work, this genial little comedy written and directed by Ron Beck feels more like a low-budget B-movie comedy . . . but without the raunchiness that seems to have plagued B-movie comedies in recent years.

"Clerks" was shot on an original budget of around $27,000 that reportedly expanded to $230,000 in post-production. "The Mini" was shot on a budget of just $15,000 in Indianapolis, using mostly Indiana University interns. On the commentary track Beck even points out where they filmed illegally (i.e., without permission). Now that's guerilla filmmaking!

"The Mini" plays out like "Rocky" for losers--people for whom the phrase "I coulda been a contender" would never have entered their minds, because they're consistently and historically bigger losers than the Chicago Cubs--personified here in the character of Francis Molon (Larry Dahlke), a lowly futon salesman whose biggest goal in life is to move up to selling mattresses, "where the money is." Hang with this guy for a day or so and you'll start to feel pretty good about yourself. That's how pathetic his life is. Besides having a crappy job with an abusive boss (Darrell Francis) and cocky co-worker-slash-high-school-nemesis Rick (Chris Stack), he lives with a mom (Sally Noble Hager) who treats him as if he were still in junior high, his best friend's idea of a good time is hanging out at the bowling alley trying "to score" (fat chance), and, like his friend, he has no idea how to get a girl--in this case, a tanning salon employee named Carmen (Angie Craft).

Dahlke is well-cast as the 98-pound weakling who's used to having muscleheads kick sand in his face. So is Jeff Stockberger as his best buddy since childhood, Dale, providing the kind of sidekick comic relief you'd normally find in a Judd Apatow film--but again, without the raunchiness. Despite their characters' loser status, these two are able to create a level of sympathy and an aura of likeability that makes us want to spend time with them. That's no small feat, especially with a script that gives us a few too many stock characters and familiar gags.

From Barney Fife to Paul Blart, Mall Cop, we've seen the over-zealous little authority figure with a big attitude before. This time he turns up as a scooter-riding strip-mall security guard (Michael Sammaciccia) in a running gag that would have been funnier had we been seeing it for the first time or if Beck built in something a little more original into the gag. Same with Fran's mom, who's "with it" with everyone but her son, a cheery Merry Sunshine who wears pink jogging suits and not enough lines to distinguish her from the other sunny mothers of mama's boys.

Or the little old lady who approaches a concert ticket office the same time as Fran and he gestures for her to go first. You knew that she was going to buy up the last 100 tickets to the concert. Why? Because we've seen the gag before. And certainly the plot is just a rehash that falls somewhere between "Rocky" and "Revenge of the Nerds." Fran's workplace nemesis gets the boss to agree that whichever of them wins the mall's annual mini-marathon will get a promotion. It's a race that Fran's father won years ago, before he died. And so Fran trains, sort of, and he tries to get close to that tanning salon beauty, sort of, and mostly hangs out with his friend because a part of him is dead sure that he can never measure up to his father (whom we suspect wasn't much either).

But as I said, you don't mind spending time with Dahlke and Stockberger's characters, because the two of them really make them come to life in what could have been a cardboard diorama. It would be fun to see what they could do together with a script that strung together a few more jokes and funny situations than this one manages. "Karate Kid" fans will recognize a bit where the bad guys dressed as skeletons chase down the good guys, but here too it's enough to make you want a few more equally obvious allusions. Oh, there are some laughs here, but like so many comedies you just get the feeling that there's too much space between the real yuks. Give Beck credit, though, for making an entertaining film that a family can watch.

Video:
Despite the low budget, "The Mini" looks only slightly sub-standard as standard-def DVDs go. Colors are bold and bright, skin tones are natural, and black levels seem to be fine. But there's all sorts of noise, especially around the edge of what appears to be a 1.78:1 widescreen presentation, with a thin layer of film grain and slight blurring on the edges of objects and people.

Audio:
Surprisingly, "The Mini" came out of post-production with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound audio, and it's fairly consistent . . . even when it's not supposed to be. For example, as Fran is talking with someone and a car pulls up, you get the same level of studio sound for both instances. There's not so much ambient sounds as there are "Office" style raw moments that match the hand-held camera shots we get throughout.

Extras:
The commentary track with Beck and actor Sammaciccia (the mall cop) is worth a listen, especially for would-be filmmakers who are wondering how in the world a cohesive and fairly fluid film with a mainstream plot gets made with less money than it takes to buy most cars. Uh, that would be credit cards, to the max. The commentary track is the main bonus feature. Aside from that there's just a brief gag reel and four minutes of deleted scenes, including the original opening. The latter is really the only scene that has any length to it.

Bottom Line:
Despite its flaws, there's something likeable about "The Mini," which explains why it won the Viewer's Choice Award at the Temecula Valley International Film Festival and the Festival Award/Prize at the Bluegrass Independent Film Festival and the Foursite Film Festival. Notice I didn't say Cannes, where Kevin Smith's first film won Award of the Youth? That's because "The Mini," like its hero, is a much more down-to-earth film with much more modest goals. It wants to make you laugh and strike a blow for the little guy in the process, and you know what? If I were to run afoul of the law and the judge ordered me to watch the same film for a year, I'd choose "The Mini" over "Clerks."