7 — Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Moth event unites
through storytelling
By BENJAMIN ROSENSTOCK
For The Daily
If nothing else, “The DUFF”
illustrates the ability of truly
capable actors to redeem limp
comedic mate-
rial. In almost
every way, the
new film from
director
Ari
Sandel
(the
Oscar-winning
short
film
“West
Bank
Story”) is forgettable, peppered
with teen movie clichés and
recycled rom-com plots, but
its cast elevates even the direst
jokes.
Written by Josh A. Cagan (the
underrated “Bandslam”), “The
DUFF” puts forth the idea that
each friend group in high school
includes a “DUFF”: the “Desig-
nated Ugly Fat Friend.” Mae
Whitman (“Parenthood”) plays
Bianca, who discovers that she
is the DUFF of her group, and
cuts off all ties with her best
friends, Jess (Skyler Samuels,
“American Horror Story: Freak
Show”) and Casey (Bianca A.
Santos, “The Fosters”). Seek-
ing to become successful in
her own dating life instead of
simply being the approachable,
less attractive friend, Bianca
arranges a deal with childhood
friend and football quarterback
Wesley Rush (Robbie Amell,
“The Flash”). In exchange for
Bianca’s
help
with
passing
chemistry, Wes will teach her
how to land her crush.
If you think you know where
this is going, you’re probably
right; Bianca begins to wonder
if Wes is actually the one for
her, and the standard rom-com
beats follow. Luckily, Whitman
and Amell are fantastic in their
roles, each lending a self-aware-
ness to offset their stereotypi-
cal roles: the flannel-wearing,
Japanese-cult-horror-movie-
watching quirky girl and the
obnoxious jock man-whore (a
phrase the film uses a number
of times), respectively. Bianca’s
scenes of nervous mumble-
flirting could be grating based
on Cagan’s script, but Whit-
man makes the character both
self-deprecating and genuinely
concerned about her social
image. Her facial expressions
and physical movements alone
are enough to make the char-
acter immediately endearing.
Every scene between Bianca
and Wesley crackles with unex-
pected chemistry, assisted by
Wes’s continual failure to stifle
his laughter when Bianca makes
dumb jokes.
One begins to wish the movie
could just be 100 minutes of
Bianca and Wesley hanging
out, because most of the film’s
conflict feels forced. Jess and
Casey never suggest any malev-
olence in their friendship with
Bianca, so the disintegration of
the group dynamic feels hol-
low and pointless. Jess’s sole
distinguishing quality is that
she’s a future fashion design-
er, and Casey’s one quality is
that she likes hacking. These
hobbies, instead of suggesting
inner lives for the characters,
function as plot conveniences.
Same goes for Madison (Bella
Thorne, “Shake It Up”), Wes’s
on-and-off girlfriend who never
achieves complexity like Regi-
na George from “Mean Girls”
or other queen-of-the-school
characters
in
teen
movies.
Madison is a bland antagonist,
stirring up trouble and embar-
rassing Bianca whenever she
gets the chance, and she’s so
unlikable that it’s impossible to
find her “what the shit” catch-
phrase or desperate desire for
fame remotely funny.
Sandel cultivates an amica-
ble energy to the proceedings,
though he generally doesn’t do
much to give the film its own
distinct personality aside from
occasional over-the-top fanta-
sy sequences. His scenes with
Whitman and Amell, though,
seem more genuine and real,
relying on fun banter and fly-
ing sparks instead of pandering
quirks like the name-dropping
of social media apps. One might
be tempted to read into the
inherent misogyny of a man
teaching a woman how to dress
and be more appealing to men,
especially because the other
end of the deal — Bianca lend-
ing Wes her chemistry notes
— hardly equals the extensive
training Wes gives Bianca. The
early scenes reflect this imbal-
ance; Amell is much taller than
the 5’1” Whitman, and as they
walk together on the track,
Bianca begging Wes to help
her, he towers over her in the
frame. Luckily, their dynamic
changes. The film’s best scene,
in which Bianca and Wes sit
together on ‘Think Rock’ and
have a deep conversation, is
framed so that Wes and Bianca
are level with each other. This
ups the sexual tension due to
their proximity, but it also sub-
tly shows how their dynamic
has shifted.
The movie culminates in a
bland ‘be yourself’ scene at the
homecoming dance, like “Mean
Girls” but without the punch
of catharsis. It’s a shame that
“The DUFF” brings nothing
new to the table, but it should,
at least, send a clear message
to comedy writers everywhere:
put Mae Whitman and Robbie
Amell in more movies.
LIONSGATE AND CBS FILMS
“Her?”
FILM NOTEBOOK
By JACOB RICH
Daily Film Editor
This was the year I was going
to be ready for the damn Oscars.
For the first time ever, I had seen
every single Best Picture nomi-
nee. I filled out a predictions
checklist. I ordered pizza. I even
invited real, talking, breathing
people over to my house (a rar-
ity) to watch it with me. I was
ready for everything. Everything
except for the Oscars being total-
ly boring.
Did the event even have a host?
Neil Patrick Harris was certainly
in attendance, but his charm,
wit and soul were all painfully
absent. His pun-heavy jokes were
entirely lame, and his “predic-
tions” shtick with Octavia Spen-
cer, while first appearing to be a
cool Barney Stinson-esque string-
along magic trick, went absolute-
ly nowhere. The one truly funny
gag he pulled (the very clever
“Birdman”
and
“Whiplash”
mash-up skit with Miles Teller)
lacked NPH flair; any Oscar host
could have performed it. His safe,
unfunny performance was espe-
cially disappointing in compari-
son to his fabulous track record
hosting the Tony Awards, where
his immense talent can be unfil-
tered, rather than tragically held
back by an Academy somehow
still reeling from a way-out-there,
actually funny Seth MacFarlane
in 2013.
But it wasn’t just the host who
was boring. The awards them-
selves were underachieving. The
only picks that were remotely
surprising were “Birdman” ’s
many wins over “Boyhood” (not
even that surprising given “Bird-
man” ’s late-game dominance
at the SAG Awards) and the vic-
tory of Alexandre Desplat’s “The
Grand Budapest Hotel” score
over the others. Every other vic-
tory was given to the safe and
sensible choice. Perhaps that’s a
good thing. It’s good to see the
Academy voters give out awards
to recipients that pretty univer-
sally make sense. Selfishly, I was
hoping that a few more black
sheep would win big, but alas, it
seems that this year especially,
the Oscars are about as main-
stream as awards shows get.
There was a grand total of one
thing that surprised during the
2015 ceremony, and that was Lady
Gaga. Her mind-blowing surprise
tribute to Julie Andrews for the
50th anniversary of “The Sound
of Music” was not only incredi-
bly on-point musically, but clear-
ly heartfelt — you could feel the
amount of love and respect Gaga
had for Andrews’s work emanat-
ing from her set. The normally
flamboyant,
overly-sexualized
Gaga was simply poised and
powerful here, showing a com-
pletely different side of her tal-
ent than the public is used to.
Consider me now vastly inter-
ested in her recent work with
Tony Bennett — according to my
girlfriend, similar levels of non-
pop Gaga talent are showcased
there. Anyway, the moment was
only sweetened when Andrews
herself stepped out and the
crowd went absolutely bonkers.
Despite the show’s stubborn
insistence on being unmemo-
rable and staid, certain award
recipients decided to actually
take on a bit of daring, deliver-
ing some powerful acceptance
speeches. Notable ones included
Common and John Legend’s
(Best Original Song, “Glory”
from “Selma”) rousing com-
mentary on current activism,
as well as Patricia Arquette’s
(Best Supporting Actress, “Boy-
hood”) plea for equalizing the
gender pay gap. Most salient
of all was Alejandro González
Iñarritu’s
(“Birdman”)
clos-
ing Best Picture acceptance
speech, in which he encouraged
the nation to think differently
about Mexican immigration — a
rare message indeed to hear on
mainstream television. If the
show itself had been half as dar-
ing as these inspiring speeches,
it would have been one of the
better shows in Oscar history.
Unfortunately, the awards tried
far too hard to please everyone,
ending up a total snore.
P.S.: Where the hell was the
remembrance for Joan Rivers
during the “in memoriam” seg-
ment? What a horrible, disre-
spectful oversight.
IFC FILMS
Daydreaming of losing big at the Oscars.
Monthly Ann Arbor
event a showcase for
personal narratives
By KAREN HUA
Daily TV/New Media Editor
Fluorescent colors illuminated
the ice as they steamed from neon
signs. Even before the show, Cir-
cus Bar had us wound up in a line
that stretched down the block, a
line of locals eager to wait despite
the chill of midweek blues.
I met my English class and my
professor as the day was grow-
ing dark, but Circus was light-
ing up. We were lucky to have
tickets in hand already because,
as one of Ann Arbor’s hidden
gems, the Moth StorySLAM sells
out instantly every month. As
a University student, it’s espe-
cially easy to get caught up in
the “Michigan bubble” (the fur-
thest I’ve ventured from campus
is probably Main Street). But, for
that Tuesday night, I felt like a
local among the eclectic crowd,
simply gathered by the fascina-
tion of storytelling.
Cradling our sodas and pop-
corn bowls, we squeezed around
to find seats despite arriving an
hour and a half early. The bar
emitted a welcome vibrancy from
the frigidity of the outdoors, an
enthusiasm that embraced us in
warmth. Next to us lounged a
rambunctious guy who cussed
every other sentence; behind us
sat two elderly girlfriends on their
GNO; by our right was a group of
alternatively-dressed college stu-
dents. It was a snug venue for the
popularity of the event, but our
physical proximity forced us all
to small talk and share our own
minute stories while we waited.
The idea of StorySLAM is
simple: real people face a live
audience to tell a true story about
themselves in just five minutes.
The event is hosted by NPR’s
Moth radio hour, and in Michi-
gan, the event comes to Ann
Arbor’s Circus Bar every third
week of the month and Detroit’s
Cliff Bells club the first week of
each month.
There are usually 10 perform-
ing storytellers among 300 in the
audience, where most attendees
are either regulars or newcom-
ers. Throughout the entire night,
the audience remained recep-
tive, clapping heartily for every
performer and reciprocating the
same energy that radiated from
the stage. For storytellers, both
first-timers and veterans, the
experience can be daunting – but
the audience was there to pro-
vide support rather than critique.
After all, the theme of the night
was “adventure.”
The general public’s under-
standing
of
“storytelling”
is
muddled – appreciated by some,
ambiguous to others. The oral
tradition lies at the root of the
written word: what we read in
print, on screen, on social media.
However, storytelling is often an
overlooked art, overshadowed
by digital media’s domineering
presence. Thus, the Moth aims
to spread awareness about story-
telling’s growing prevalence – to
debunk myths about its archaic
nature.
At the core, the event spreads
poignant stories that need to be
shared. In doing so, people may
learn how their mundane lives
can evoke primal understanding
from larger audiences. In their
ordinary lives, there may be inspi-
ration for others. In turn, these
storytellers may gain a newfound
understanding of themselves.
Patricia “Patty” Wheeler, the
Michigan StorySLAM producer,
introduced us to the concept
with an infectious vivacity. Dou-
bling as emcee for the night, she
encouraged
audience
interac-
tion by asking for anonymous
contributions in response to the
prompt: “Tell us about a time
you had no idea what would hap-
pen, but you went for it anyway.”
Between performances, she read
the micro-stories aloud – short
but earnest anecdotes of find-
ing future spouses, discovering
beauty amid the chaos of par-
enthood and other life-changing
experiences summed up in two
sentences.
First to perform was Grace, a
stout middle-aged woman who
fervently recounted her – tragic,
albeit hilarious – diarrhea experi-
ence in Mexico as an adolescent.
The irony between her maternal
appearance and her zany tone set
the vibe for the night – an atmo-
sphere of honesty and mutual
acceptance.
Many stories proceeded to
narrate comedic misadventures
like hers – study abroad experi-
ences gone awry, evading respon-
sibility or inciting debauchery as
adults. It became difficult to dis-
cern the novices from the veter-
ans, as the environment allowed
for a comfort among all parties.
Each performer carried a natural
ability to speak candidly with-
out concern of being rehearsed
or well-versed. What mattered
most was the story delivery over
content. Simple stories were often
the most affectively complex.
Such was Emily Elizabeth
“E.E.” Scott, whose story added
a deeper dimension to the night’s
predominantly humorous vibe.
She spoke sincerely about her
mother’s memory loss, a tragedy
turned into an “I fear no fate”
tattoo. Her performance elic-
ited tears, but also occasional
chuckles of recognition – dual
sensations that left us in speech-
lessness afterward. For Scott,
a young Ann Arbor regular but
first-time storyteller, her ease
onstage convinced us all she had
done this dozens of times before.
Scott explained, “Storytelling
in person is different from any
other type, because it’s almost
like you have less control and
you might not know what’s going
to happen. You might surprise
yourself in your words, whereas
in writing, you know what you’re
going to do, or you have the power
to edit, at least.”
Scott proved that storytelling’s
heart lies in its primal nature.
Most of the audience probably
had never had explosive diar-
rhea in Mexico or a mother fading
away with memory loss – but we
did have our individual experi-
ences with love, loss and adven-
ture that translated into shared
understanding.
Wheeler started as an essay-
ist and Moth volunteer three
and a half years ago. She men-
tioned how just after attending
one event, she saw the three-way
link between the writer and the
speaker, and the importance of
hearing the story as a listener.
Writers and speakers alike are
storytellers, but sharing expe-
riences aloud for a responsive
audience can be cathartic and
revitalizing in ways writing in
solitude cannot.
She told us, “When you hear
somebody and you see their face
… hearing the emotion in some-
body’s story helps connect to your
own life and the emotions that
you have.”
As evidenced by the night,
there’s so much to be learned
from fellow human experiences.
With live, spoken-word stories,
there’s an immediacy and an inti-
macy, a holistic sensation that
accompanies each tale told. By
seeing and hearing the speaker
face to face, their emotions are
unadulterated by our own inter-
pretations when we read.
Theorist
Walter
Benjamin
calls “the author as producer,”
referring to how oral tradition
gives authority back to the story-
teller. In true tales, the facts will
remain, but storytelling inspires
communication with listeners
and control over the presenta-
tion. Whereas novels and written
word distance the reader from
the writer, storytelling has an
accessible closeness.
“Everybody has stories in their
lives that have stuck with them,
and if we give the opportunity
for everyday people … to get up
and tell true stories … that helps
everybody else know that their
lives are also special and dynam-
ic, and that they have stories that
are worth sharing,” Wheeler
said.
Though many bemoan the
decline of the oral tradition,
events like StorySLAM attest to
the revival of true stories, and
how they are becoming increas-
ingly important in our technolog-
ical age. Ultimately, the Moth’s
greater mission is to elucidate
how we all can be storytellers,
and then to use digital means of
storytelling to share this honesty
we put forth. Wheeler noted sim-
ilar foundations – 2nd Story in
Chicago, massmouth StoriesLive
in Boston, the National Storytell-
ing Network in Tennessee – and
many more with aims akin.
“There’s this giant resurgence
of oral storytelling that’s happen-
ing all around the country and all
around the world,” Wheeler said.
“It’s only going to get stronger
and stronger through commu-
nity experiences like this.”
At the end of the event, we left
buzzed from the heartwarming
vibes of good people, good art
and a good night. As we departed
for the cold outdoors, many of us
vowed to return next month to
add our own kindling to the fiery
passion for stories.
Oscar night in review
Chemistry can’t save
mediocre ‘DUFF’
I was hoping
that a few more
black sheep
would win big.
FILM REVIEW
EVENT REVIEW
B-
The DUFF
Rave &
Quality 16
Lionsgate and
CBS Films