If you know me, then you also know that for me friendship is everything. 

Sure, sex is wonderful. Relationships are awesome. Collaborators are cool. 

For me, friendship is where it's at. 

I thought about my most valued friendships quite often throughout Dirty Laundry, a rare narrative feature from Indiana-based filmmaker Rocky Walls currently having its world premiere at this week's Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis. 

Dirty Laundry is set in 1997. Kyle Miller (Mitchell Wray) is a 19-year-old slightly misdirected young man who dreams of something bigger than his gig as a barista at a local coffee joint. Eric Hernandez (Charlie Schultz) is his best friend, somewhat similarly misdirected yet deeply influenced by parents who have a vision for his life that doesn't include the business that he and Kyle are spending a year away from college planning. 

A random encounter at the local laundromat where the two spend their nights scheming and dreaming with a mysterious stranger (Deborah Asante) sets in motion a disruption of sorts, a spell that leads to these two longtime BFFs being incapable of lying to each other, to themselves and to, well, anyone. While they try frantically to break the spell, Kyle and Eric discover just how much is at stake when their truths come out. 

Now then, Dirty Laundry could have easily played out like a one-note gimmick. 

It doesn't. 

Dirty Laundry could have easily become nothing more than retro-vibed cornball. 

It never does. 

Instead, Walls has crafted a quietly engaging and often quite funny story about friendship beyond the surface and how that changes us, challenges us, helps us grow, occasionally breaks us up, but more often than not makes us better human beings. 

Mitchell Wray and Charlie Schultz are charmers, charismatic young actors who successfully capture both the idealism of being young adults and the vulnerability of being, well, young adults. Dirty Laundry isn't so much one of those "laugh out loud" comedies, instead finding its strength in the kind of comedy that comes from authentic relationship, genuine connection, and the hilarious awkwardness that comes from deepening friends. 

You know what I mean? There are those friends who can make you laugh just by entering the room. You look at each other you laugh. You say a familiar word. You laugh. You touch on a familiar subject? Well, you get the idea. 

That's not so much who Kyle and Eric are in the beginning. It's who they become over the course of Dirty Laundry and why we begin to love them, I'd dare say, as much as they learn to care for one another. 

While we spend the vast majority of our time in Dirty Laundry with Kyle and Eric and inside this retro-vibed, comfortable as hell laundromat, it should be noted that Walls has also assembled a mighty fine surrounding ensemble. If you're from Indy, you know the name Deborah Asante and her presence here gives our mysterious stranger just the perfect presence that was needed. Asante's an icon, at least in my mind, and her presence here is sublime casting brought perfectly to life by Asante. 

As truths get revealed and stories unfold, the importance of Dirty Laundry's ensemble is amplified with Ian Cruz impressing as Eric's dad, Erika Lewandowski shining as Christine, and Mark S. Esch spot-on as Tony, the laundromat's owner among others. 

Original music by Eric Salazar helps to maintain the film's consistent tone. Grant Michael's lensing is impressive throughout, capturing the emotional rhythms of Walls's storytelling and embracing the absolutely essential atmosphere that holds that storytelling. 

I've always enjoyed Walls as a documentary storyteller in such films as IMBPREZ and More Than Corn, however, I must say I really enjoyed this segue into narrative storytelling and character-driven filmmaking. It's both proof of Walls's growth as a filmmaker and further evidence of the increasingly impressive filmmaking scene in my home state of Indiana. 

While Heartland is winding down this weekend, I have no doubt more opportunities to check out Dirty Laundry will come. You should definitely take them. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic