18 months ago Dan Fogler broke the news to us about his new film DON PEYOTE. 6 months ago he gave us a little update. Last week I finally got to see it. Well, most of it. The film is currently unfinished with 10 shooting days left and a handful of special effects that need to be added. For obvious reasons, this should not be considered a review of the film.
DON PEYOTE tells the story Warren Allman (played by Fogler), an unemployed stoner who finally finds a purpose in life after an unpleasant encounter with a homeless man preaching the end is near. Fueled by vivid apocalyptic dreams, Warren becomes obsessed with 2012 doomsday theories and decides to make a documentary on the subject while his fiancé is busy planning their wedding.
The film expertly weaves together a narrative storyline, Warren’s increasingly bizarre dream sequences and documentary footage. Many of the documentary elements are real interviews with people like Daniel Pinchbeck with Fogler in character. There are also some staged interviews such as Warren interviewing his friend’s drug dealer, played perfectly by Jay Baruchel in a quick cameo. Speaking of cameos, Anne Hathaway & Wallace Shawn both pop in for funny but all too short roles.
The brilliance of the film is that no matter how ridiculous the theories are, every character plays it straight so it is up to the audience to either laugh at or embrace the ideas presented on screen. Personally, I laughed. So did most of the audience. There are some absolutely hysterical scenes starting off with the opening sequence. I cannot wait to see it with the special effects added in because it is a truly unique and hilarious way to kick off this film.
Fogler likes to call his directorial debut HYSTERICAL PYSCHO “rock n’ roll Hitchcock on acid” which is a fairly accurate description. If he wants to continue the same motif for DON PEYOTE, I’d like to suggest “rock n’ roll Woody Allen.” Hopefully things come together quickly for this film because it will be a juggernaut on the festival circuit when it is finally finished.
Until then, you can stay updated by liking the Facebook fan page HERE or following the man himself on Twitter at @MrDanFogler.
Jerry Cavallaro – www.JerryCavallaro.com
