The deserving winner of the en semble- acting award at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival, editor David Robert Mitchell’s auspicious debut feature owes a lot to “Dazed and Confused” and other coming-of-age flicks, but it’s an engaging piece of filmmaking on its own, beautifully shot and acted.
It’s set in a generic Detroit suburb on the last evening before the end of summer vacation. The absence of texting gives it a timeless feel.
What recent high school grads and their older siblings have in common is an ennui that’s explored in lightly plotted tales revolving around four main characters, including a college junior (Brett Jacobsen) who virtually stalks a pair of incoming freshman twins (Jade and Nikita Ramsey), who are attending an orientation sleepover.
Other nonprofessional actors who shine are a jock (Amanda
Bauer) who ends up kissing the wrong boy at a slumber party, and Claire Sloma and Annette DeNoyer as classmates who leave the party for a co-ed adventure on the beach. Marlon Morton is also very good as a blonde-obsessed guy reminiscent of Richard Dreyfuss’ role in another obvious influence, “American Graffiti.”
Though there are plenty of laughs, “The Myth of the American Sleepover” keeps the audience on its toes as the protagonists veer dangerously close to tragedy during the long night in this haunting picture.