\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen a film\u2019s opening credit sequence includes the phrase \u201cShot entirely on location in Los Angeles, California,\u201d you know it\u2019s going to have that particular L.A. vibe. It\u2019s certainly true of Situations<\/em>, the debut directorial feature by Greg Vrotsos (a veteran actor whose credits include many episodes of Orange Is the New Black<\/em>), which showcases not only the verdant geography of the city\u2019s Silver Lake neighborhood but also the career and relationship issues that make the city such a fertile breeding ground for neurotic, self-absorbed characters.<\/p>\n \n\tNick, the central character played by the director\/co-screenwriter, certainly qualifies as one of those. In this film, which received its world premiere at the Oldenburg International Film Festival, the successful photographer is first shown getting together with his ex-girlfriend Jessica (Katie Parker) at a caf\u00e9 three months after she initiated their break-up.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tSituations\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tThe Bottom Line<\/span> \tAn amusing snapshot of neurotic Angelenos. \t\t\t\t\t\t\tVenue<\/strong>: Oldenburg International Film Festival \n\tThe meeting doesn\u2019t go well, since he\u2019s still pissed about the \u201cspreadsheet\u201d she included in a recent email to him, in which she detailed exactly how their assets should be divided. \u201cWhat are we doing here?\u201d he asks testily. She responds by handing hm a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen he opens it later alone at home, all he can say is \u201cWow\u201d over and over. He calls his lawyer, distraught. \u201cMy chest hurts,\u201d he moans. \u201cI thing I\u2019m having a thing,\u201d sounding like Woody Allen.<\/p>\n \n\tOr maybe the late Henry Jaglom, whose films this one closely resembles. As with the works of that solipsistic filmmaker, plot is not a major element of Situations<\/em>, the title of which proves accurate. We see Nick as he meets with his agent, works at photo shoots and has a conversation with an old friend whom he happens upon at a park. (The scene is shot entirely from a distance, either an aesthetic choice or possibly to avoid permit issues).<\/p>\n \n\tMostly, the film depicts Nick\u2019s awkward attempts to re-enter the dating scene, especially when he very reluctantly agrees to be set up on a blind date with a woman named Gabrielle. His anxiety leads to two of the film\u2019s best scenes. In the first, he nervously rehearses conversation for the date in front of a bathroom mirror (I mean, who hasn\u2019t?). In the second, he arrives early at the fancy restaurant where they\u2019re meeting, only to be greeted less than warmly by the haughty hostess who doesn\u2019t want to even let him sit at the empty bar because he\u2019s so early for his reservation. When he finally does sit down, the bartender (a very funny, deadpan George Basil) informs him that the drink he\u2019s ordering is \u201cagainst the law.\u201d The two men verbally square off hilariously, demonstrating the unique art of using politeness as a form of aggression. It\u2019s a sequence that could have come straight out of Curb Your Enthusiasm<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBailing on the date before she arrives, Nick bums a light from a woman (Fiona Dourif of The Pitt<\/em>) smoking outside the restaurant. Although their encounter is initially hostile, they\u2019re next seen in bed together, where they discuss their respective relationship woes and she, what else, plays him her ex-boyfriend\u2019s drunken voicemail messages.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd so it goes, culminating in a scene in which Nick goes to a dinner party hosted by his friend Paul (P.J. Byrne), where he finds out that one of the guests is Gabrielle (Fernanda Andrade), the woman he stood up. What happens next is cringe comedy par excellence, including a little girl finally asking, \u201cUncle Nicky, are you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA little of this sort of thing can go a long way, and Situations<\/em>, which was previously made as a short film, occasionally feels drawn-out in its minutiae. But its well-observed characterizations, and yes, situations, ring amusingly true (at least for a small subset of the population), and Vrotsos displays an admirable willingness to make his character seem like a jerk. Even when you don\u2019t like him, you can certainly relate to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When a film\u2019s opening credit sequence includes the phrase \u201cShot entirely on location in Los Angeles, California,\u201d you know it\u2019s going to have that particular L.A. vibe. It\u2019s certainly true of Situations, the debut directorial feature by Greg Vrotsos (a veteran actor whose credits include many episodes of Orange Is the New Black), which showcases<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[3422,2512,144,3421,4736],"class_list":{"0":"post-26792","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-angeles","9":"tag-comedy","10":"tag-cringe","11":"tag-los","12":"tag-solid"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Cast<\/strong>: Greg Vrotsos, Melora Walters, P.J. Byrne, Fiona Dourif, Katie Parker, Fernanda Andrade, Gino Vento, Tony Kanal, George Basil, Augie Duke, Gabrielle Maiden
Director<\/strong>: Greg Vrotsos
Screenwriters<\/strong>: Greg Vrotsos, Daniel Hartigan
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1 hour 42 minutes\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/p>\n