Event

Lovers, Liars and Lunatics

In Person: Amber Benson, co-star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In her second film as a writer/director, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Amber Benson has created a darkly funny slapstick comedy about a very, very dysfunctional family. Retail store owner Paddy (Vic Polizos) is sleeping with his personal secretary, Gloria (Mia Cottet), while his outraged wife, Elaine, switches his Viagra with his heart medication. Their eldest son, Gunner, thinks of nothing but sex, while both parents think their youngest son, Julian, is gay because he works in a coffee shop and likes musical theater. Gloria, impatient to get her hands on Paddy's money, makes her brother (Michael Muhney) and his dim-witted horny girlfriend (Benson) break into the house while the family is out of town. However, Paddy and Elaine have had an argument and cancelled their trip. Things quickly get out of hand when the burglary turns into a hostage situation, and the inept criminals find themselves drawn into the family's personal problems. Benson playfully keeps us off-balance about where our sympathies should lie: with the criminals or their so-called victims. USA, 2006, 87 min., color