Gizmo Love

Article by Natalia Baal | 14 Aug 2006
Attempting to reveal the difficulty and drama behind the scenes of creating a Hollywood hit with only four actors is tricky to say the least, but this story depicting the developing relationship between a sociopath genius writer and his hairy, sweaty editor manages it surprisingly well. When Ralph (Toby Dantzic) realises he has sold the rights to his story 'Gizmo Love', a story he has been obsessing over from an early age, he is forced into working with Manny (Peter Ploycarpou) to make alterations to his masterpiece and shape it suitably for the big screen. The audience then witnesses the growing trust and respect between the two men as they painstakingly dramatise every detail so as to perfect the place of every swear word in the script and every blemish on the heroine's face.

The cast initially provide convincing performances although, as their mania increases and the shock ending nears, the actors seem unable to continue at the same pace. Only Ploycarpou's character remains strong as he rubs his belly, wipes his sweat and tries to keep control of the maddening situation, with his perfectly timed rolling eyeballs and frustrated armshakes. As he gets more involved than he at first planned, he moves away from a comic tinsel town caricature, becoming increasingly desperate and lost in the story he is trying to perfect. What remains is an entertaining hour and fifteen minutes. One is left with only a hazy understanding of what actually happened, but some particularly strong characters have a lasting resonance.