Watertown Tab

Note: Original article excerpted to include just the Working Stiff content

 PERSPECTIVE

Life in Watertown is Good

 MY VIEW

KENNETH MIRVIS

...My last experience of loving this place came last Friday evening at the Studio Cinema on Trapelo Road. (OK, maybe that really. is Belmont, but it is still walking distance from my house.) They premiered an independent, locally made film entitled "Working Stiff." What a hoot! The first week's run was so successful, that they have held it over for this week, too with showings at 6:45 p.m. It's not Spielberg, but it is great fun and well worth seeing.

 The story is utterly preposterous: A filmmaker employed by an agency needs to come up with $10,000 to keep his home in the South End. His agency is making a film on sexual harassment in the workplace. They find backers (local medical practitioners) to fund a new porn film -- on sexual harassment in the workplace. They can, they figure, double up on the cast and sets, adapt the script only slightly, and shoot the porn film when the office is closed. It conveys as good a sense of taste as is possible considering that they are making a porn film. (There is no nudity, profanity, or violence, only a lot of laughs and preposterous situations and characters.)

[Filmmaker’s note: There is some nudity and profanity.]

Director Greg Joyce funded the film to the tune of about $200,000 with the help of credit cards, family, and friends. The casting, directing, acting, and camerawork were darn good, especially when you consider that they started shooting in 1998, ran out of money, then picked up again in early 2002 -- without missing a beat. They shot on 16mm film, so the image is a little grainy, but that took only seconds to get used to.

 We don't get to go to local independent films very often -- especially really good ones -- and mingle with the cast, crew, and filmmakers. They were giddy and the atmosphere was fabulous. It's grand to live in a small town with all of the amenities of the biggest and best cities in the world -- and a real town center (with no "e" at the end).