WFG RATING: B+

Bayview Entertainment presents a Charybdis Productions film in association with Rosewood Five. Produced and directed by Tony Olmos. Written and edited by Brian Patrick Butler. Cinematography by Justin Burquist.

Stars Kimberly Weinberger, Brian Patrick Butler, Aimee La Joie, Randy Davison, Merrick McCartha, Matthew Rhodes, Pierce Wallace, Jake Golden, and Nick Young.

This dark comedy is both disturbing and hilarious with its cast showcasing both their craziest and funniest.

An apartment building is the setting for what is soon to be chaos due to an epidemic involving bath salts making people in town go crazy. However, taking advantage of what’s going on is the landlady, Liz Topham-Myrtle. She rules the building with an iron fist, evicting anyone she doesn’t like and even threatens those she deems a threat. There is one supporter in the form of Rosie, and as a result, Liz offers to reduce her rent. However, the problems soon arise. 

Rosie’s relationship with a local musician goes sour when he admits to having a better life on the road. One of the tenants begins to have murderous motives due to past trauma. As if that’s not bad enough, Liz is secretly plotting to take over as the new owner of the building with the help of her daughter. A double murder and a few disappearances later and things are set to change everyone’s lives forever. 

This, along with the recently released Staycation, is a wild and wacky dark comedy that goes from funny and chaotic, to downright chaotic thanks to the script by Brian Patrick Butler and the performances of the cast. One thing is for sure. It is difficult at times who is a good guy and who is a bad guy, but we know who definitely is bad and that’s the landlady.

What’s even more hilarious is that the landlady, Liz Topham-Myrtle, is played by none other than writer Butler himself. And he is perhaps one of the biggest highs of the film as Butler keeps the laughs going in the role of someone who is clearly insane and needs some professional help. In one such case, right after hiring a male escort, Liz doesn’t know whether to keep him in the room or kick him out, until she is interrupted by a call from her daughter. That’s just a taste of what we get from this crazy landlady.

If there is one character that you would feel even an ounce of sympathy for, it’s Rosie, played by Kimberly Weinberger. She wants to keep quiet, accepting what she has and does the best to make the most of it. However, she also gets the short end of the stick on all fronts. First, she’s in a toxic relationship that ends up with not just a breakup but her ex goes as far as physically assaulting her. Then, she finds herself in the wrong place and wrong time, leading to more chaos. She is the unsung hero of the film, but the other characters in the film are just bats**t crazy in their own way, give or take a few characters. 

Hemet, or the Landlady Don’t Drink Tea is a fun, wild, dark, and chaotic comedy thanks in part to writer Brian Patrick Butler’s hysterical performance as the landlady and insane twists involving death and chaos makes this one you just have to see!

The film is now available on VOD.