Went blind to an indie flick named A Strange Brand of Happy that’s playing in a bunch of local theaters (never seen a trailer, no idea what it’s about other than it’s a comedy). Well, it turns out that it’s a very limited release (45 screens nationwide, apparently) but is in a bunch of local theaters because it was filmed in Cincinnati. Poorly. But… local. One guy wears an “Over the Rhine” t-shirt, they go to Dewey’s Pizza, Graeter’s in Hyde Park, and there’s a few shots of the skyline (the buildings, not the faux-chili).

Yeah, this was a really amateur effort – spotty editing that ended most scenes awkwardly or with a semi-cute animated interlude, actors who gave it their all but weren’t very good, and some other problems.

On top of that, it’s a faith-based movie that wanted to be a wacky romantic comedy that teaches a lesson about accepting God… except it wanted it both ways and managed only half of each. The church and god stuff seemed randomly crammed into the movie and didn’t seem to follow the plot or the characters and the comedy wanted to be edgy but couldn’t be because of the need to be faith-friendly.

Score: 58