Reel Advice from the Video Store Guy

Chance

VHS

***

Directed by

Amber Benson

Written by

Amber Benson

Cast

Amber Benson

James Marsters

Christine Estabrook

Andrew Hallett

Tressa Di Figlia

Rayder Woods

Jeff Ricketts

Nate Barlow

Shamus Murphy

David Fury

Cathy Doe

Patrick Beller

Lara Boyd Rhodes

Rupert Cole

Jaimie Linn

Grant Langston

unrated

75 min

www.chancemovie.com

First off you did NOT read any of those credits wrong.

This is actually a movie brought to us by Amber Benson and James Marsters of the now-defunct (unless you count the inevitable DVD and syndication) Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is, in fact, the first from Amber and family's production company, the obviously titled Benson Entertainment.

Which of course begs the question. These two are among the biggest names in horror fiction today. Buffy was an institution. Anyone claiming otherwise, simply fails to grasp the concept of "institution". What kind of follow up can do the appropriate justice and respect to the exemplary careers of the one and only Tara and Spike themselves?

The answer?

They didn't even TRY, folks. This is a shot out of left field in a totally different direction that will blindside viewers like a 747 falling out of the sky and hitting a pedestrian on the sidewalk.

What we have here is the story of a marginally regular girl, Chance (hence the title) living with her pretty damn bizarre roommate, Simon. Chance is off on the immortal crusade for that One Special Man. It's a crusade we're all amply familiar with, on one end or the other, and it has all the pratfalls one might expect. Benign stalker neighbors, guys who weep publicly and imprison girls in cars hoping to "talk like (they) used to," dumb schmucks who talk about MOSS, that kind of thing.

We couldn't get more existential than this. We're gonna be tackling all the biggies on this one--life, death, sex, double standards, telemarketing, parents getting divorced late in life, and everything in between and beyond.

And we roll on through this gigantic pinball machine of a movie, bouncing back and forth from topic to topic, with seemingly little in the way of overmastering point. But actually...who cares? This is slice-of-life at its best. Following Chance around on her frenetic, pretty much pointless life isn't a half bad ride.

Check out the 'pure-t' originality Chance is riding here. Check out the opening voice over. Not one minute in and it's original. Check out the multi-pronged conversation at the one hour mark. Check out the truly awesome (I STILL can't believe that's the best word here but it really really IS!) scenes on the boat around the forty five minute mark. This is like nothing else out there. This is the kind of work that Kevin Smith would KILL to have in his arsenal if he weren't busy pounding Jay and Silent Bob into the collective unconscious like so many steel railspikes.

It's not going to be for everybody. People hoping that Benson and Marsters would ride the 'Buffy wave' on into direct-to-video horror titles are going to be heartbroken. There will be at least ONE total loser who's so utterly shattered by a 'non-Spike' Marsters that he will do something stupid, illegal, or both. Possibly ending in corpses.

Maybe Chance was the best thing for Benson, Marsters, and their ilk. Sure, Sarah Michelle Gellar went on to destroy Hollywood in a truly Cobra Commander fashion by having a hand in the making of the Scooby-Doo franchise (the concept of which STILL makes me shudder in balls-out revulsion), but Benson and Marsters are GROWING. They've made this incredible quantum leap from a part of an institution, being a piece of a whole, to maybe starting a whole of their own.

Damn, that makes you think.

The ending is actually a serious surprise, in light of the events that led up to it. But then, from the profoundly disconnected nature of what we just watched, ANYTHING would have been a surprise. An ending with Chance and Simon quietly playing Scrabble would've been a surprise. It's not hard to be surprising when you've just spent seventy-five minutes bouncing around like a Superball in a wind tunnel.

The special features are sparse in nature--just a handful of outtakes.

All in all, Chance is a highly original and truly interesting romantic comedy which if viewed by itself, on its own merits, is actually pretty pleasant. Sure, it's not the best of follow-ups if viewed in the long run, but you don't HAVE to view it in the long run. Just watch it.

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