Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: HE’S DEAD & SO AM I [Austin Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]
The aspect of purgatory and the afterlife is always an interesting crux of perception both in interaction and psychology. "He's Dead & So Am I" is a different approach that works beautifully when it does but lags when it doesn't. The melding of almost improv comedy and existential angst is an interesting progression. The star turn of the film is by far Melanie Stone as Sandra. Despite and because of her character's filthy mouth (obviously incorporated at times as a defense mechanism), she comes off as the film builds as a truly human and flawed person. Even though it doesn't quite reach the heights it could have, in one scene you can feel her pain bleed through with a sense of sadness. Opposite her is co-director Gabe Cosdorph as Lance who can't stand up to the brightness. He plays Lance innocent but a darker edge might have worked better for his redemption. They work well off each other but something is missing. The two others in the cast fare better.
Aubrey Reynolds as Daphne is more of a plot ploy than anything though she fuels some good jokes and some vigilante justice. Her arch though is very uneven especially her placement in the world beyond mere circumstance. The genre wrangling especially using this area of Utah which is green and filled with forest brings to mind different odes to form from "Robin Hood" to "Lord Of The Rings" to "The Vanishing". Alex Gunter as Bart is actually the better balance to Sandra but he has other plans. He lifts every scene (but can't compete with Stone's energy). Another star of the movie is the snyth fueled music which makes the "rules" cards all the more fun. "He's Dead & So Am I" plays with form in a unique way while a darker subplot works underneath again fueled by those unseen in the underworld. There is a bigger story and a world here but it is barely hinted at. It gives the story depth beyond a simple hauunting story played for laughs. The first resolve has merit and is respectable but it is the second one that is more in line with the feeling of the piece. The film feels like an excellent exercise of parable building that moves fast and yet keeps an inconsistent and yet overall vibrant tone. B
By Tim Wassberg
