I truly believe a film like Adam Rehmeier’s “Dinner in America” will get a cult following in the years to come. After all, it was all but ignored by most Sundancers in 2020, in favor of bigger and more topical titles. Now, more than 72 months after its premiere, it is finally being released on VOD and in select theatres.
There are barely any politics in this lovers-on-the-lam punk-rock-comedy, and yet, Rehmeier’s film is too irresistible to dismiss, mostly because one rarely sees such an infectious match of rebellious energy and romance at the movies.
Despite the rather slow-ish start, where our two lovers, Simon and Patty, have to maneuver into place for their inevitable meeting, “Dinner in America” roars into punk-rock heaven once these two lovebirds touch heads.
Set in the midwest, Simon (Kyle Gallner), wanted by the police for arson, finds himself on the run, and the chance encounter with eccentric Patty (Emily Skeggs) provides him a place to hide. At first, they are a total mismatch — he’s rebellious, she’s shy. However, after Patty realizes that he’s the anonymous lead singer of her favorite band, she decides to go on a series of silly misadventures with him, including getting Patty’s parents stoned, recording an indelibly catchy song and attending the most awkward family dinner in quite some time.
Okay, fine, it sounds rough on paper, but Rehmeier’s film is filled with joyously contagious filmmaking. Mixing dark comedy into his adrenaline-fueled romance may irk some timid minds, as the two protagonists couldn’t be further apart from PC culture, but for the rest of us, get ready for a blast of a punk-rock nirvana. [B]