There's dysfunctional, and then there's Fanny, Annie & Danny's family. There is no pretext of trying to get along or even liking each other. This is dysfunctional on meth, figuratively. The blatant hate, fighting, even rage is shocking. It's raw, angry and downright brutal. But it is Christmas and the family gets together -- mostly because they all love the prodigal son, Danny (Jonathan Leveck), who is actually a con man who bilked the rock band he was trying to promote and now they want their $20,000 back or they call the police on Monday. So, like any favored son and brother, he cons his family, including his gravelly throated harridan of a mother (Colette Keen), his harpy of a sister, Annie (Carlye Pollack) who is consumed by arrangements for her upcoming wedding to an unemployed, impotent, pot head who is actually the nicest guy (Nick Frangione) in the film -- which she doesn't appreciate, his oldest sister, Fanny (Jill Pixley). Fanny was just laid off her job at a chocolate factory, and it's not likely she'll find another job soon with her OCD, mental handicap and possible autism. Let's all sing obscure Christmas songs around the electric piano and have some turkey! The worst is yet to come.
See below for Bonnie Steiger's Interview with writer, director Chris Brown. Bonnie Steiger reaches into the depths of filmmaker Chris Brown's mind to find the roots of this white bread, suburban nightmare.
Fanny, Annie & Danny
Director/Writer/Cinematographer/Editor: Chris Brown
Cast: Jill Pixley Carlye Pollack, Jonathan Leveck, Colette Keen, George Killingsworth, Nick Frangione
Time: 82 min.
See the trailer at YouTube.
Playing in the Mill Valley Film Festival at the Throckmorton on October 15, 9:30 pm
And: San Francisco Film Society's Cinema by the Bay Film Festival, Friday, November 5, 7 pm, Roxie Theater, San Francoisco, CA
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