This film about a budding filmmaker and the girl he longs for takes the experimental route with some very intricate filmmaking techniques from writer/director Michael Reich.
Mike is an aspiring filmmaker who works as a pet groomer to make ends meet. His most recent idea for a film is to do a remake of his most favorite horror film of all time, Carrie, with one small exception. He wants to make it an all-cat remake. He constantly attempts to get funding through Sebastian for the project but is constantly turned down. While at home, to keep his filmmaking aspirations intact, he creates strange video art that he thinks no one has interest in.
That is, until one day, he meets a customer named Cora, whose pet he is taking care of. The two instantly hit it off and Mike hopes to one day ask Cora out. Meanwhile, Sebastian continues to fluster Mike about his dream film and now, to make things worse, makes fun of him about Cora. When Cora finally agrees to a date with Mike, things don’t go unnecessarily as planned, but all in all, it may seem like a good night for Mike…or is it?
You have got to hand it to writer and director Michael Reich for crafting a very intricate film that is semi-autobiographical while at the same time, using his penchant for experimenting with different cinematic techniques to make a film about a filmmaker with a dream and soon enough, a dream girl. What’s fascinating about the film is that it looks like we are engaged in watching an 80’s VHS cassette meshed in with techniques to show the inner thoughts of our lead character.
Mike Pinkney, who also co-produced and was in charge of the film’s visual effects, brings in a performance as Mike on the level of a David Schwimmer. Pinkney is someone who is only working at a pet groomer to make ends meet while his boss Huber, played by Luis Fernandez-Gil, is so enthused with the job at hand that he compares the job to making love. For a good portion of the film, we see Mike struggle as not only is the job bothering him, but the constant flubbing from the character of Sebastian, played by Flula Borg, doesn’t make things easier for him. However, when he meets Cora, who until the date happens, we see out of focus, he finds himself in a bit of a happy place.
When we finally see Cora in focus, she is played by Sonja Kinski, the daughter of famous actress Nastassja Kinski and the granddaughter of the legendary Klaus Kinski. Here, Cora seems a bit timid at first, but when she warms up to Mike, it looks like Mike may have found himself quite a romance. Kinski and Pinkney work very well together as two timid people who soon warm up to each other and make for having a good night together, even when things don’t go as planned.
She’s Allergic to Cats is quite an entertainment experimental look at a man and his inner thoughts while attempting to live his dream and find his dream girl. Mike Pinkey and Sonja Kinski are great to watch and the techniques used in the film are quite intriguing.
WFG RATING: B+
A Normal LLC production. Director: Michael Reich. Producer: Anthony Baldino. Writer: Michael Reich. Cinematography: Zach Driscoll. Editing: Forrest Borie.
Cast: Mike Pinkney, Sonja Kinski, Flula Borg, Honey Davis, Luis Fernandez-Gil, Veronika Dash.
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