Brian Hacker’s feature film debut as writer and director is a very funny autobiographical tale about gumming up one’s prom by making the wrong moves, and potentially being stuck with two prom tickets, a pricey limo, and not a single girl to spin on the dance floor and spend the night with at the local hotel.

Besides a refreshingly light and uncliched take on a tiresome prom scenario, the reasons Bart Got a Room works so well are the nuances packed into every shot, as well as the film’s tight running time. Perhaps it was the film’s low budget, but there are no lame music montages to pad the film’s length and act as cheap bridgework between scenes, and not a single moment is untrue to the eccentric but believable characters in an earnest drama where no one’s a villain or hero.

Hecker’s alter ego, Danny Stein (Steven Kaplan), is a smart kid whose parents Ernie (William H. Macy) and Beth Stein (Curb Your Enthusiam’s Cheryl Hines) are in the midst of setting up their own lives and romances after a recent split, and Danny’s potential dates are based to some extent on Hecker’s own best friends and crushes. What makes the plot work is the fact Danny’s parents are willing to do the best for their son, although the extra push comes when Bart, the school’s nerd extraordinaire, has a date as well as a swanky room for the post-prom partee.

Hecker smartly keeps Bart far in the background because he’s really just a punchline. The lighthearted laughs come from sharp, realistic dialogue, painfully embarrassing moments for desperate Danny, and a cast sporting the worst hairstyles in recent memory. Macy’s stunningly awful mop is based on Hecker’s father’s super-curls, while Hine’s is a jagged variation of Cameron Diaz’ brillo mop in Being John Malkovich (1999). The supporting cast is comprised of familiar faces (Jennifer Tilly, Homicide’s Jon Polito, and Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat) and unknowns with distinct looks, such as a hen-pecked high school couple who set up a prom date with a leggy looker (Angelina Assereto).

Many sequences are enhanced by visual ticks that weave in and out of the background like finely tuned comedy sketch gags, including a friendly, neighboring granny whose decision to offer a cake is ill-timed, Macy munching and waving a gigantic pickle during a date, a giant-headed infant, and an Egret bird that walks into shots during Danny’s most embarrassing moments.

Jamie Lawrence’s jazzy/funky score adds the right bounce to the film’s pacing, and the film’s pastel look recalls sixties Florida exploitation films, with their saturated Eastmancolor cinematography. (Deliberate or not, the exterior shots of pools and homes recall the Florida-shot films of Hershell Gordon Lewis and Doris Wishman, of all people.)

Hecker also treats the South Florida locale of Hollywood with affection, particularly the average suburban homes, streets, and restaurants – a marked change from the usual crime and thriller films set in ritzy, grungy, or soggy environments.

Anchor Bay’s DVD includes a clean transfer of the film, and besides the trailer, there’s a pop-up track with factoids regarding the cast, characters, locations, and a few production bits. Although it’s a neat feature, there just aren’t enough factoids to maintain a steady pop-up track, and it’s a bit baffling as to why Hecker chose not to sit down for 90 mins. and just discuss the making of his film in detail.

Hecker’s prior film experience includes his award-winning AFI film Family Matters (1998), and a starring role in Severance (2005).

© 2009 Mark R. Hasan