Dane Bachman with his 2025 offering of Generation Necktie could have been titled Love, Hate and Stuff. Such is the depth and breadth of his mini opus about loser skateboarders. It could be seen as the reverse of the 2004 iconic Napoleon Dynamite film.
However.
Where the 2004 comedy leaves one in helpless laughter by the end, Bachman’s Generation Necktie has us feeling nonplussed and not a little down.
the story
A film crew documents a gang of skateboarders. The young men wax philosophical about a number of things as they indulge themselves. One lad takes copious amounts of shrooms. Another has an awkward love fest with a girl going to college. The last feels himself akin to Nietzsche. And one younger member of the group has a fixation on “odd” things.
All are wandering aimlessly through life without a clue.
the main cast
Dane Bachman is Patrick Murphy.
Jonas Chartock is Walt Murphy.
Kyle Roth is “Shroom Guru” Mickey Willard.
Ben Dougherty is Adam.
Aiden Skipper is Dust.
Kudos to
Steven Skipper as Mr G*d.
Behind the camera
Dane Bachman writes, directs and edits the two hour long “mockumentary: Generation Necktie.” Jake Gonzales performs cinematographer duties here. The press release for the film states that this is a labor of love for Backman.
Generation Necktie is completely funded by Bachman’s part time pizza job. The shooting budget, according to the filmmaker; was $15, ooo.oo.
It is an impressive film with such a lo-no budget. There are some bits however that do not work.
Problems
Generation Necktie, at a runtime of 1 hour and 53 minutes it too long. It is classified as a dark comedy. Dark it most certainly is. There is comedy there but when it does appear, it surprises first and then amuses. *There is a scene with bubble wrap that is quietly funny (Pun intended.) and it does indeed surprise you.*
For a film that is mostly aimless dialogue, it could have done with some tightening up. As the aforementioned Napoleon Dynamite, with a runtime of 1 hour and 36 minutes, Generation Necktie could have used a good bit of trimming.
It does still work
Generation Necktie does still work however. It seems to be tedious because the subject matter is. The lads all take themselves so seriously. Too seriously. This look at lower middle America is perhaps too dark with too little comedy to be truly funny.
It was, at times, grueling to watch.
But.
There is some excellent dialogue and a multitude of themes are explored here. Not least of all, to Bachman’s credit, does the film ever not feel like a “documentary.” The pieces have been put together very well and the cast all act their little cotton socks off.
In essence, the film does still entertain. It is just not my cup of tea, really. Don’t get me wrong, though. It is not because of the “type” of film it is. I adored Napoleon Dynamite and still find it brilliantly funny. That film is also about a bunch of “losers” trying to find their way, but nowhere near as dark.
the verdict
Generation Necktie is, for me, a shaky 3 stars. The film’s inability to really strike my funny bone, or indeed “connect” with me is probably down to a generational issue. Keep an eye out for Dane and his young crew of actors though. They make an impression.
It can be streamed on YouTube.
The trailer
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