It was a rare thing once upon a time to see films debuting on VOD before hitting DVD or even theaters, but that’s no longer the case. While there have been several successes in recent years the most buzzed about involves the film Bachelorette which made barely $400k in theaters but took in $5.5 million from its pre-theatrical VOD run. That’s no chump change for a low budget independent film.
One of the many smaller films hoping to duplicate that success is Ramaa Mosley‘s The Brass Teapot. Michael Angarano and Juno Temple star as a young couple beaten down by life who soon discover that if they have to suffer why not do it for cash? A magical antique purchase seems to offer them a shortcut to happiness, but the cost may be more than their bodies and hearts can afford.
Check out the Twilight Zone-inspired shenanigans below.
Mistaken use of “it’s” instead of “its” aside, this looks to be at least mildly entertaining, and while it’s hard to tell there may also be a healthy dollop of drama here too. It’s the kind of movie you could see Jim Carrey making back in the late ’90s isn’t it? Imagine the pained grimaces he would have devised!
Neither lead is a particularly big name, but Temple found praise recently with her turn as a retarded lolita in the whacked-out Killer Joe (co-financed by KFC). Angarano works steadily, but audiences missed a phenomenal performance by him in the criminally underseen Ceremony. I blame his agent for bookending that film with the ridiculously bad Gentleman Broncos and the laughably so Red State as both of them were higher profile and drew attention away from the far better film.
Screenwriter Tim Macy developed The Brass Teapot from his own short story with a brief incarnation as a comic along the way. Mosley apparently found him after googling “best short story” when looking for a film inspiration. The two hit it off and worked to bring the story to the screen. While the film looks to be a comedy at heart Macy is also presenting it as a commentary on materialism and what drives people to want more.
I would say anyone who works a job they don’t love knows it’s painful. It’s an easy metaphor with the idea of a job as painful and a teapot that pays for pain. We all have to ask ourselves the question over our own diminished joy and lack of happiness to work a job to pay for things we think we need. Is it really worth all that suffering?”
Find out when The Brass Teapot premiers on VOD on February 28th and gets a token theatrical release on April 5th.