Talhotblond

Saw Talhotblond (thanks, Anne!) It was an earnestly directed and acted small-budget film about a married, middle-aged man who falls in love with a girl he met on the internet. This film feels like a cautionary tale from the 90s but is in fact from 2012. It feels helplessly naive and silly. It's horrible and awkward seeing this balding dude fall in love with an internet handle. It's like watching a teenager try to hit on a girl with cheesy pickup lines. It's just so deluded, kind of funny, but deeply sad.

We are told that this film is based on a true story (I believe it to be based, in fact, on the *truest* story) which barely needs to be said. The only shocking thing here is the late-film twist revelation that the person behind the talhotblond handle is actually a female human. The core of the story here is about a man's mid-life infidelity, dressed up in the modern-day clothing of email and instant messaging. This infidelity is not dealt with head-on however. Instead we are side-lined by other, larger, somehow more digital troubles. It's also not exactly cutting edge tech either. Their computer looks like it uses Windows XP and they all use flip phones. Maybe I'm forgetting how quickly tech moves? Did we have XP machines in 2012? The whole thing is strange.

It's a tough watch, mostly for the protgaonist's guileless trust in this internet stranger. It's very well-acted however and for all it's cringey sincerity, it's well directed too. The protagonist is a believably Hank Hill-ish dude who you could believe has no interest in these inter-tubes. His wife also is a nicely old-school matron whose tired but tough exterior gives way to an old softy underneath. It's a pity the film they're trapped in is so silly. Some day Hollywood will produce a good film about the dangers of the internet, but it is not this film.

Edit: there is no imdb trivia about this film. Nothing trivial occurred in the making of this film.