SAVE YOURSELVES!

(director/writer: Eleanor Wilson/Alex Huston Fisher; cinematographer: Matt Clegg; editor: Sofi Marshall; music: Andrew Orkin; cast:  Sunita Mani (Su),  John Reynolds (Jack), Ben Sinclair (Raph), Johanna Day (Judy), John Early (Blake), Gary Richardson (Chuck), Jo Firestone (Desi); Runtime: 93; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Mandy Tagger Brockey, Adi Ezroni, Kara Durrett;  Keshet Studios./Washington Square Films; 2020)

“Quirky comedy.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

In the quirky comedy directed and written by Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fisher, there are plenty of zingers for laughs to compensate for a lightweight story. An argumentative but sweet millennial 30-something Brooklyn couple, Su (Sunita Mani) and the techie Jack (John Reynolds), want to get away from all the distractions of city life such as their internet addiction and heavy phone use to reconnect with each other and nature, and do so by taking up the generous offer of their friend Raph (Ben Sinclair) to stay for a week at his remote cabin in upstate N.Y..

After becoming unplugged from the world in the country, there’s an alien attack they are unaware of. Also, they view an unusually large amount of shooting stars in the skies and a strange fuzzy ball-like creature wandering around in their cabin, which they call a pouffe. They learn of the attack when Su breaks her promise and uses her cell phone.

To escape, the pacifist couple with no survival skills, find themselves with a few other survivors trekking through the woods. They also find themselves taking along a baby without anyone to care for it, and become like three babes in the woods.

Both the film and the couple were appealing, in this small budget alien film that would have been a downer but it’s just played for laughs.

REVIEWED ON 10/17/2020  GRADE: B