STARRING
Noah Bailey, Ansley Berg, Timothy J. Cox, Isaiah Lapierre DIRECTED BY
Zachary Lapierre SCREENPLAY
Ian Everhart, Zachary Lapierre RUNNING TIME
16 Mins. OFFICIAL FACEBOOK
"Dirty Books" Feels Like the 80's Teen Flick is Back
I've unfortunately caught the short film Dirty Books late in the game with the film already having made its way to available viewing on Youtube and, as such, you get the chance to actually check it out above.
Directed by Zachary Lapierre and co-written by Lapierre and Ian Everhart, Dirty Books follows David (Noah Bailey), the editor-in-chief of the Prichard Hall School newspaper, as he is informed by Dr. Bradley (Timothy J. Cox) that the paper is being shut down in favor of an online blog. Despite having no practical way to save the paper and no decent stories in sight, David sets out to craft a story that will save the day.
Dirty Books has a rather 80's vibe about it, a time when teen comedies were quirky, fun and character driven. As played by Noah Bailey, David Burroughs is quite the character, a somewhat nerdish young man with a wonderfully conniving spirit and an almost Ferris Bueller like sense of "whatever it takes" to get the job done. Timothy J. Cox, seemingly a regular face in the indie shorts on The Independent Critic, is at home as Dr. Bradley, a matter-of-fact kind of guy who, as time goes on, seems to reveal that perhaps he squelched that same rebellious spirit years earlier.
David is inspired by friend Owens (Isaiah Lapierre), a mysterious sort with a mysterious journal of his own that is off limits to David yet fuels his willingness to push things even further as Dirty Books unfolds. Ansley Berg, as a sports reporter with a nose for news even finer than David's, is easily one of the film's highlights during her time on screen.
During a particularly boisterous and controversial election cycle, a film like Dirty Books resonates quite a bit even if Lapierre never really takes it that far. It would be impossible to watch the film and not see parallels between David's behaviors and a certain politician or two on the scene these days.
Dirty Books doesn't exactly cover fresh territory, but what it does cover is done so with energy, spirit and a talented ensemble cast. As noted, the film is now available for viewing and you should check it out for yourself.
