The Yuppy’s Hangover
Before attending the premiere event of the Echo Park Film Center’s “Cinema Spekeasy” for the screening of Jared Drake’s directorial debut, Visioneers on Tuesday, I had spent the day staring at a computer screen strapped to a headset. And no, I was not on some raging World of Warcraft bender. A part-time telemarketer by trade, my job pretty much consists of dialing phone numbers I look up on a monitor and asking whoever picks up if I could forward their contact information to a client company. Needless to say, it’s a dull task I prefer not to examine too deeply. So when Visioneers opened on futuristic office-clerk or ‘tunt’, George Washington Winsterhammerman (Zach Galifianakis), sitting down at his oversized desk, amidst a drab and windowless workspace, harnessing a peculiar looking head device, my soul skipped a beat. I knew I was in for a confrontational movie-going experience. Lucky for me, however, Visioneers serves its dose of societal critique with a healthy spoonful of absurdity and makes for an inventive, often humorous two-hour reflection period. The wacky plot follows the passive, almost mute George as he struggles with the growing paranoia that he will fall victim to the recent epidemic of spontaneous combustion, which is seeping its way into the corporate infrastructure of the company he works for: the Jeffers Corporation. Founded by the mysterious Mr. Jeffers, it is the “largest and friendliest and most profitable corporation in the history of all mankind,” and serves as only one of the obstacles blocking the path to George’s freedom. Others include a self-help book obsessed wife; a homoerotic motivational trainer; a pole-vaulting, hippy brother; and most heart wrenching of all, an unspoken love for the voice of the woman who works one floor above him. Coming off the monster success of this summer’s The Hangover, Galafianakis delivers an intelligent and unexpectedly reserved performance. Like a seasoned silent film star, he prefers to show a minute amount of facial emotion, allowing for the audience to paint their own faces upon his. At least I know this was true for me. For it might have just been the lack of air conditioning in the Echo Park Film Center’s screening room, but I came away from Visioneers wondering how long it would be before I, myself, spontaneously combust. Visioneers is playing at various, independent locations around the nation, maybe even in your backyard if you choose to host your own screening. Visit the official website at www.visioneersthemovie.com for details. The Echo Park Film Center’s “Cinema Speakeasy” nights occur the first Tuesday of every month. For more information, go to www.echoparkfilmcenter.org or call 213-484-8846. 
Tags: , Echo Park Cinema Speakeasy, Jared Drake, Jeffers Corporation, spontaneous combustion, Visioneers, Zach Galifianakis
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