17th Philadelphia Film Festival

Much like beauty, art is in the eye of the beholder. Be it a screen printed can of soup, the harmonies of a song or the words on a page, art takes on many shapes and forms. And much like a comet, once in a great while there is an artist that captivates the masses.

"Who Is K.K. Downey," directed by Montreal-natives Darren Curtis and Pat Kiley, is a humorous, hyper-active story of the quest for fame and notoriety in the world of skinny jeans and fixed-gear bike riders.

Terrance (Curtis) and B.F.F. Theo Huxtable (Pat Silver) share the dream of the spotlight. Terrance has hopes of singing his way into the hearts of hipsters everywhere, while Theo believes his recent novel "Truck Stop Hustler" will catapult him into the stratosphere of counter-culture greats like Bukowski and Kerouac.

Unfortunately, Terrance's band is terrible and Theo is "too suburban" to be the author of a seedy novel depicting the sexploits of a teenage meth addicted male prostitute. To add to Terrance's woes, he learns his lost love Sue recently moved in with her self-important boyfriend Connor (Pat Kiley).

But as rock bottom approaches, Terrance realizes Theo's book should be marketed as an autobiography and quickly morphs into a new pop culture icon, K.K. Downey.

Much like the plight of James Frey, author of "A Million Little Pieces," the false promiscuous past of the mysterious K.K. Downey hits a chord with the scenesters, creating an overnight legend. But can the pair survive the cost of fame while living in a house of lies?

While it may not be entirely original, "Who Is K.K. Downey?" is an extremely hilarious skewering of the self-centered hipster scene. It is best seen with a can of cheap beer, a pair of dark-rimmed glasses and a hot dog with eyes on it "because it deserves the gift of sight."

When living paycheck to paycheck, the two words 'insufficient funds' often mean another night of pasta and some severely crossed fingers that recent checks will not bounce. I'm not too proud to say I've been a few dollars short, but I've never been over $9 trillion in the hole.

The documentary "I.O.U.S.A." focuses on the scary state of our country's economy. Since taking a look at the country's crossword obsession in his last film "Wordplay," director Patrick Creadon's latest film is enough to make one want to dig through the couch cushions and save every penny for impending economic doom. 

Thankfully there is help. Comptroller General of the United States David Walker and Robert Bixby of Concord Coalition are on a country-wide mission to "Wake Up America!"

A large portion of the film focuses on Walker and Bixby's efforts to bring to light our country's ever-growing debt and inspire Americans to make very difficult decisions. 

But much like the problems plaguing our economy, it is easy to get lost in the sheer amount of data put forth in the film. With the help of computer animation, one of the films most striking moments is seeing the graphical, to scale, representation of a trillion dollars. 

For the economic uninformed, "I.O.U.S.A." is an important first step in shedding light on the true State of the Union. 

Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go clip some coupons.

Reality and grief are two concepts that often end up in the crosshairs of filmmakers. Mixing these amorphous themes with a protagonist that has a creative mind can lead to an interesting cinematic experience.

In the broadest terms, "Lovely By Surprise" by Kirt Gunn is about a writer (Carrie Preston) who has trouble drawing the line between the reality of her characters and her own.

When persuaded by her former professor (Austin Pendleton) to kill off the favorite of her two characters she sets off a chain reaction of cross-reality contamination full of cereal, running and melish.

But it is the emotional current connecting the worlds in "Lovely By Surprise" which gives the film its strongest heartbeat. Comparisons to films like "Stranger Than Fiction" or "Adaptation" are expected, but Gunn's story really is more about how to deal with the loss of a loved one and cope with not saying those things you should have said.

In a more animated fashion, literally, Emily Hubley's film "The Toe Tactic" is about a woman confronting the fear of losing the memory of her deceased father with the help of an animated group of god-like dogs.

While "Lovely By Surprise" clearly defines its worlds prior to throwing them into chaos, "The Toe Tactic" is already comfortably entrenched in its confusion. There are no lines to blur, because lines drawn quickly turn to shapes and signs used to help and deceive the main character, Mona Peek (played by Lily Rabe).

Featuring an original score by Yo La Tengo and cameos from the comedy world, including David Cross, Eugene Mirman and the hilarious Jane Lynch, "The Toe Tactic" is a strange journey into the depths of acceptance and the ability to let go.

And if there's one thing to learn from cinema like this, it is that it does not pay to hold on to convention, just let go and enjoy the ride.

A lot can happen in 11 minutes, especially when it comes to the Philadelphia Film Festival.

Saturday proved to be a day packed with personalities. Starting the day with a mustachioed William H. Macy and ending the day with rocking drag queen performance at the Planetarium can do strange things to the mind.

William H., or Bill, was in town with co-stars Jason Ritter and Fiona Glascott to promote their "love story" to Hollywood "The Deal." What is essentially a satire of the filmmaking process quickly evolves into a madcap romance scenario involving fast-talking, embarrassment-proof producer Charlie Burns (Macy) and his studio suit (Meg Ryan).

It's light-hearted, often funny and odd in its own way, especially considering L.L. Cool J. also takes part as an action movie star who is searching for films that will fulfill his recent conversion to Judaism.

Following "The Deal", I met up with "Project Runway" winner and current fashion designer Jay McCarroll to discuss his film "Eleven Minutes" which focuses on his struggles to show a collection at New York Fashion week.

It's immediately obvious to see why he is a hit in the world of observational entertainment, as he has personality to spare and never slows down. His documentary is much more of the same, showing the chaos that is planning a fashion show and future in the retail world.

After the film, a mini-fashion show/after party was held at the Fels Planetarium with a surprise performance by drag queen rocker Martha Graham Cracker.

Listening to a Russian-polka version of "Let It Be" sung by a 6'5"+ drag queen complete with bizarre 3D animations displaying on the planetarium dome is an once-in-a-lifetime experience to be sure.

I'm not clear how that experience could be topped, but I can't wait to see what's next.

Walking into the world premiere of a Frank Henenlotter film it is hard to know what you are getting into, but it’s obvious from the crowd full of blue hair and horror tees that this will not be a night of typical Hollywood fare.

Henelotter has had a long career of unique horror-comedy films, including Basket Case (1,2 and 3), Brain Damage and Frankenhooker. His latest film “Bad Biology” delves in to the deepest pit of human sexuality and romance in a strangely charming, yet highly disturbing way.

With the help of hip hop artist R.A.  “The Rugged Man” Thorburn, Helenlotter’s latest twisted protagonist Jennifer (Charlee Danielson), is a woman with a “special” condition in a sensitive area. Jennifer’s main love interest in the film, played by Anthony Sneed, is a man who has problems with a self aware “member.”

It’s difficult to sum up the plot, as 80-percent of the film would most likely offend my mother or anyone else.

At its heart “Bad Biology” his about two outcasts trying to find their place in a world that is not prepared or even physically able to accept them. At its soul, Henenlotter’s film is one that will absolutely appeal to some despite being in an industry no longer willing to accept something outside the mainstream.

Prior to watching "Young @ Heart," the opening film of the Philadelphia Film Festival, I was a little dubious of the plot. A group of senior citizens singing a variety of familiar punk, funk and rock songs sang of exploitation for the sake of a laugh, but what I found was more heart, more drama and more characters that a Hollywood blockbuster.

The Young @ Heart chorus from Northampton, Massachusetts is made up of a ragtag group of seniors, including 92-year-old Eileen, a former dancer who can belt out songs from the Clash and still has a bit of flirt in her and Fred, who despite a constant flow of oxygen can belt out tunes with his beautiful baritone voice and has a constant flow of one-liners.

Director Stephen Walker says in the film that he felt as if he picked up several new grandparents and who can blame him. The members of the chorus are loving, open and more than able to hold their own, even when confronted with the demands of chorus master Bob Silman.

But it is the music that truly makes "Young @ Heart" transcendent. As many of the chorus members have never heard, or would have cared to hear, the soul of the songs they are performing, tunes like James Brown's "I Feel Good", shine through. I'm not ashamed to say I was actually brought to tears by the rendition of Coldplay's "Fix You," a ballad all too close to home for the chorus.

By the film's finale it was difficult to determine if the applause was from the crowd on screen or the crowd in the theater, a feat that is extremely difficult in these days of fickle filmophiles.

"Young @ Heart" opens at the Ritz on April 18. And please, don't hesitate to sing along.