The movie Fix redefines the term “fly by the seat of your pants.” In this film, Leo (played by Shawn Andrews) must attend court-ordered rehab by the end of the day, or he will have to return to prison. But rehab is expensive, and Leo can’t afford the $5000 it will cost him to go, so his brother Milo (Tao Ruspoli, the director) and Milo’s girlfriend Bella (Olivia Wilde, as seen on House) come to LA to help him out. And by help him out, I mean they bring a camera and document the wildest adventure one day could encompass. Within 15 hours, the group participates in every scam they can think of, from selling a police dog to a motorcycle gang to stealing a car and selling it to parts places.
A film like this could have been either horrifyingly terrible or incredibly amazing, but Fix definitely falls into the latter category. The casting for the leads spot on, as is evident by the male actor prize given to Shawn Andrews at the Brooklyn International Film Festival. Likewise, the casting for the supporting roles, such as Leo’s girlfriend Carmen (Megalyn Echikunwoke) and Daphne (Dedee Pfeiffer) really made the movie. If these characters were not as strongly developed, the attachment to Leo’s story, and thus the film itself, would have been gone.
One thing that is kind of frustrating about Fix is the way it was filmed. The camera used for this movie is handheld, so it is constantly in motion. After a while, even the road starts to blur together with the rest of the scenery. While this may have been an attempt to make the viewer feel as though he or she is along for the ride, it can also be very distracting if you’re the type of person who will pick up on that, or if you have an issue with motion sickness.
Even though the cinematography is a bit tedious, the tour of LA is rather entertaining. Along with the crazy ensemble of people Leo, Milo and Bella run into along the way, it’s nice to see a different side of Los Angeles than is normally portrayed in films. Usually, we are given the rich and fancy view of Beverly Hills, or the seedy underbelly of downtown, but Fix gives us bits of both without going too over the top on either end. It’s a very welcome change from what we normally see.
Overall, I found the film to be incredibly fun, insightful and thoroughly intoxicating, even though the premise is not so realistic. But as odd as I may find it now that Bella and Milo went along for the ride and were accomplices in Leo’s sordid schemes, it only occurred to me now, as I reflect on the movie. And that is precisely what makes Fix a success.
DVD Bonus Features
This DVD includes several bonus features. There is an actor’s audio commentary with Tao Ruspoli, Olivia Wilde and Shawn Andrews, as well as a filmmakers’ audio commentary with Ruspoli, Paul Forte and Christopher Gallo. Along with these features, there are some “Making of Fix” shorts, a conversation with Tao Ruspoli and Shawn Andrews, and a photo gallery. The commentaries are pretty interesting but I can’t figure out why on earth a photo gallery is now a semi-standard bonus feature. But that, my friends, is a rant for another time.
"Fix" is on sale March 9, 2010 and is rated R. Drama. Directed by Tao Ruspoli. Written by Charles Castaldi, Paul Duran, Jeremy Fels, Tao Ruspoli. Starring Dedee Pfeiffer, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Olivia Wilde, Shawn Andrews, Tao Ruspoli.
