Film Reviews

Tadpole

• Rating:
• Director: Gary Winick
• Starring: Aaron Stanford
• Details: US / 79 mins / (12PG).

Breezy low budget Graduate-esque comedy which follows Oscar Grubman (Standford), an articulate, urbane 16-year-old boy returning to his father's (Ritter) Manhattan apartment for the Thanksgiving break. A deeply precocious sort, Oscar has fallen head-over-heels in love with his new(ish) step mother Eve (Weaver) and plans to woo her away from his father, or at least have an affair with her. His constant rejection of females his own age inadvertently leads him into the arms of his Eve's best friend, the caustic but beautiful Diana (Neuwirth), who regards Oscar with equal measures of amusement and lust.

Like another recent release, Igby Goes Down, Tadpole owes a hefty debt of gratitude to JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Also like Igby Goes Down, Tadpole is constructed like a play or a short story - it's static in terms of locations yet alive with wit and humour. The narrative may be as slight as the running time, but Tadpole whistles along in a good humoured fashion, with some amusing moments and a slew of good performances. Sadly the film runs out of ideas in the final minutes, and the conclusion is a trite one, something that you'd associate with bigger budgeted, more conventional fare. Moreover, the fuzzy digital video film employed here really doesn't suit the tone or material, meaning that Tadpole often looks like a rough cut.

Review by Garreth Murphy