Directed by: Dylan K. Narang
By robotGEEK
Nate Skoog (Jon Heder) is a young adult living in small town America where he and his best friend Will aimlessly live their lives trying to figure out what to do for a living. When Nate becomes obsessed with the idea of becoming a mercenary-for-hire in his town, he takes a job protecting a high school kid from bullies. When a fight between a couple of town bullies goes too far, Billy Zane shows up and turns up the heat, resulting in a showdown to test his worth.
I have to admit, I quite enjoyed this charming and quirky little comedy. On one hand it feels and looks like a cousin to Napoleon Dynamite and feels like it exists in that very same universe, but on the other it works entirely on it's own merit. It's adorable and earnest with a stacked cast of fun character actors that include Gina Gershon, Billy Zane, John Ratzenberger, Amanda Bearse and more.
Tapawingo is filled top to bottom with some very inventive and zany camerawork, a surprisingly great soundtrack full of classic hits, a fun poppy score by Jacob Yoffee, and a very lighthearted silly tone that is honestly a bit refreshing these days. You could even say it functions in the same genre as Nacho Libre. That's the tone we have here and again, it's refreshing because we rarely get these types of comedies anymore. Most filmmakers these days just don't care about the visual language of a film, instead choosing to shoot loose, fast and freestyle, whereas here director Dylan K. Narang does a fabulous job with the framing and compositions of each and every single shot. It's all thought out methodically in a way you rarely ever see anymore, and it's impressive.
This film exists in a wonderfully constructed world where you can't gauge what decade you're in, which I really love and admire. From the costume design, production design, color palette and score, to the quirky performances and impressive soundtrack full of classic staples, Tapawingo is a breath of fresh air. If I had any issues, it would just be that it feels like it runs a tad too long, maybe by about 15-20 minutes. But be that as it may, I know I will find myself revisiting this little gem quite often.
Check out the official trailer below:
https://youtu.be/dOsmAExV1KQ?si=f4SJhpoD0XibEOE_
