Skills Like This

Max (Spencer Berger) is a terrible playwright with big hair. One day, he makes a split decision to rob a bank, and discovers he’s got some talent after all. It’s a good starting point, but ultimately this debut film from director Monty Miranda, doesn’t take it far enough.

While the plot itself is unpredictable, the characters are one-dimensional: we learn that Max steals just because it makes him happy, and is totally unconcerned about the inevitable repercussions; his friend Tommy (Brian D. Phelan) is ludicrously stupid, which is initially funny but soon becomes tiresome; their friend Dave (Gabriel Tigerman) is timid, can’t handle his drink, and prefers to avoid any law-breaking; and when Max falls for the bank teller he robbed, Lucy (Kerry Knuppe), all we really know is that she’s cute and, you know, nice.

However, this is not to say that the film is bad – there are some gems scattered about, and the upbeat soundtrack serves to get the adrenaline going in the robbery scenes. But in between these moments the pace is slow, and the overall effect of the film is to fit neatly into the ‘quirky indie comedy’ genre without rocking the boat too much.