Fresh (1994) 114 Minutes

In Nubs’ astute preamble to this Pick, he announced that he had the perfect summation to the Jam that has followed his previous Selection - ‘Bob Roberts.’ Here, he told us, was a film that united the noir environment of Netti’s ‘Night and the City’ while resolving the three cycle “adult story told through children”/“children’s story told for adults” with a story about a very adult child.

WildCard Slim and Bourbon Cookie performed the Movienight Set-Up marking the first time in our History that Tooda or MOFO didn’t set the stage for our Pick. The start was delayed by almost forty minutes to await the arrival of Pat Towne bringing the Back Yard total to 5. Wiener (who?), Jaja (huh?), Netti and Buffy all missed the Pick.

‘Fresh’ featured Giancarlo Esposito from ‘Bob Roberts’ and Samuel L. Jackson of ‘Unbreakable,’ and ‘The Incredibles.’ It featured the Movienight debut of Sean Nelson and F. Murray Abraham.

Next week (as it’s his Pick) Netti returns to the Back Yard with his ‘Night and the City’ follow-up. It will also be his Birthday!!

“Anything lost can be found again, except for time wasted.”

Written and Directed by: Boaz Yakin

BBD Comments:

Despite earning my first ever speeding ticket to get there on time, ‘Fresh’ was straight up Movienight. ‘City of God,’ ‘Brick,’ and most importantly - ‘Yojimbo’ all echoed loudly in this excellent Selection.

Sean Nelson’s remarkable title character masterfully plays all sides against each other with a presence to rival Mifune. The meticulous unfolding of this story is a true pleasure throughout.

The chess metaphor could so easily have been heavy handed, but it plays out beautifully as we watch Fresh’s long battle to protect his Queen. It is a brutal film, but there is a beauty to it all that keeps the bleakness from overpowering.

Nubs brought that rare Pick that no one else had seen before. Rarer still was that he brought a Pick that had me thinking and talking all week long. Well done.

Onwards.

Brandon Comments:

It is a pretty rare occasion when someone presents a film which I have not seen before. It is even rarer when someone presents an AMAZING film which I have not seen before, let alone even remembered after 14 years. ‘Fresh’ is the epitome of that statement. ‘Fresh’ is so chock full of dramatic twists and turns that you have to stay on top of every character, every scene and every bit of dialogue throughout its entirety. There’s been no other film to date, that I recall, where a young hero sends his young friend out to be slain, brutally kills a dog, and tell cold-faced lies to the police in order to save the Queen, his cracked-out sister, at all costs. And we still love him when he does it. The audience still feels for this little kid even after he slowly hoists a pitbull into the air and watches him struggle to catch a breath. We watch horridly as the kid then pulls out a pistol and pops a cap through the dog’s chest. And we still love the kid! That is amazing filmmaking and even more amazing acting.

Where did this film go? Why hasn’t it ever been discussed before? Why hasn’t it become a sleeper hit…especially after nearly 15 years of languidly sitting on the dusty shelves of video stores.

Nubs stated in his preamble that, with this pick, he wanted to return to the early, glorious days of MovieNight. Although I was not a Member during those early, formative days of the Crew, I have seen all of the films that were projected across the Stucco. And, Nubs, you most definitely did not return to the early days of MovieNight. What you did was take our little MovieNight to a whole new level of criterion. What you did was add an entirely new chapter, a new level of perfection, to our Wednesday nights and to all our Wednesday nights to come. You single-handedly raised the bar for perfectly timed Selections, much like Tooda accomplished, in my opinion, with ‘Cabaret.’ And Nubs, more importantly, you turned me on to a new film which immediately ranks up there in my Top 10 Must-See’s.

SELECTOR Comments:

I was really pleased to present a pick to the crew that none had seen before. This hasn’t happened for me since the scared, skeleton Crew gathered for ‘Audition’ two Octobers ago. It really is rewarding when you watch your baby dance in front of their wide-open eyes, and the general reaction is positive. At least, I think. These things can turn in reviews quickly.

‘Fresh’ is a movie I haven’t seen since 1994 in a theater very close to it’s setting of NYC. I’ve been trying to get Coolbaugh to watch it because it has all of his favorite ingredients (kids, guns, black people, urban struggle, and a cup of strategy). After Bourbon stepped in to give the jam session ‘Willy Wonka,’ I felt dessert had been served and that rotation was over. I was completely at a loss for my next Pick when Coolbaugh announced he’d probably be back for my pick. Then it hit me that not only does ‘Fresh’ have a similar plot to ‘Brick’ and Samuel Jackson (‘Unbreakable’) and Giancarlo (‘Bob Roberts), but also my man Fresh likes to unwrap and eat chocolate bars throughout this gem.

It was settled and all seemed perfect until I tried to view it late the night before. I happened to read the one bad review on IMDB I could find out of the 50 praising it, and it tainted my reviewing. Then, of course, Coolbaugh wasn’t going to make it and I faced the unknown fear of the audible. Fortunately, I was too busy to consider another choice and decided to trust the playlist. If Netti had ever been to one of my Picks he might remind you of the funny time in Baja when we adopted the mantra, “trust the playlist”

As for the movie, I was impressed how tight it is. Even after the third viewing it really is like watching highlights of a well-played game. I was surprised at the deplorable choice of exit music, but overall ecstatic with it’s holds-up-ability. I look forward to everyone else’s review after their first viewing.

next >

< previous