Review of Butch Jamie (2008) by Joanna L — 19 May 2011

This isn't a bad film, or a badly written film. The director/star, Michelle Ehlen seems to be telling an autobiographical story from act 1. The comedy doesn't so much come from full-on bits, as the absurdity of the situation, which makes a certain amount of sense. This is clearly an independent film, with original music done for it. Ehlen, isn't a compelling leading actor, but is supported by a decent ensemble.

Editing and camerawork are actually pretty good in this, to frame the scenes.

Sadly, the makeup and voice work doesn't really have you believing that Ehlen could be perceived as a guy, but then again, (since characters directly reference the film Tootsie, staring Dustin Hoffman), I have to play devil's advocate, and point out that Hoffman didn't make a convincing woman, nor did Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire. The comedy of these gender-bending films is that the people cannot be what they are, in order to get what they want from life.

The makeup the character of Jamie wears isn't that convincing, but she ends up looking like Paul Giamatti. As with many independent films, part of the charm comes from what they do to work around the low budget, and the quirky side stories that they put in to make this film more like a Hollywood comedy.

It's generally enjoyable, and I get the sense that this film was Ehlen's "Kane" in some ways: this was her first film, she directed and edited it, as well as writing and starring in it, and it's seemingly semi-autobiographical, but with a story that diverts a bit from fact.

I think that given the right backing, Ehlen could actually be an award winning director, and if given a good screenwriter to work with, she could easily flourish as a writer/director. In terms of acting, you can tell she wrote it, but it's not bad. You can just tell that this woman identifies with the character on a deeper level.

Some of the shots in the bar have bad miking, but you can still clearly hear what they're saying.