First Period (2013)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It is like, so totally the 80s. If you can't tell from the movies, celebrities and TV characters mentioned, or the girls in one scene wearing "Flashdance" outfits, certainly you can tell that a viral video of an embarrassing event meant for blackmail is not captured and sent using a phone, but collected as a series of still photos using a technology where you watch the photo appear on a white square that ejects after the photo is taken.Cassie's mom has lost her job and returned with her teenage daughter to the town where they used to live. Cassie is the new kid at school, but this does not bother her. As she writes in her diary, narrating for us, she is very confident and feels very good about herself. Not that she has reason to: she looks and talks like an overweight drag queen. From the first word she speaks, you know a male actor is playing the part. But this is only a problem for narrow-minded people. She is a typical teenage girl, with clothes and bedroom décor that suggest early hot pink trailer trash. Cassie believes she will easily make friends with the popular kids and become popular herself.This is not going to happen. Heather and Heather are the popular girls, and Dirk and Brett are their boyfriends. The guys seem nice but must do everything their girlfriends say. Dirk must take off his shirt whenever he has done something wrong, for example. Heather and Heather are unbelievably cruel, even going so far to state in class that all uggos and fatties need to make themselves look good or go away, so we can all be happy.But Cassie isn't bothered. She meets Maggie, who is a lot like her. Well, not quite. Maggie also has a very masculine look and voice, but she is definitely a girl (at least that's what we're supposed to believe, even though we know for certain that's really a guy). However, Maggie seems happy but is very insecure and gullible, and easily persuaded to change her mind.Why is a man teaching female anatomy? Even worse, he is about as sensitive and politically correct as Donald Trump. Maggie is asked to leave since the class is for girls. Maggie insists she is one. "For how long?" the insensitive teacher asks. Heather and Heather state their outrageous opinions while another girl speaks for the other side. The girls watch a film which starts out like those corny films every school child supposedly watched in the 50s, but it turns into a hilarious and bizarre mess that even includes Dracula. A separate Dracula, according to the credits, appears in one of Maggie's fantasies.Despite the way they are being treated, Cassie and Maggie are determined to be popular. There is a talent show later in the week, and Maggie is quite a good rapper, even holding her own in a contest against John, who is African-American. Maggie is a little concerned that when white people do it, it's racist, but this does not seem to be a problem. Cassie doesn't really have a talent but she doesn't let that stop her. Plus she is determined to get everyone to come to her Sweet Sixteen, also later in the week.Heather and Heather show signs of coming around to a kinder attitude, but you can almost be certain that when they are nice, they are plotting something (especially Heather). Dirk and Brett really are nice, and they end up dating the "freaks" after their girlfriends have supposedly broken up with them. I'm not really sure. Both guys are kind of dense. By the way, there are hints both guys might be bi and attracted to each other.Cassie and Maggie endure ups and downs as they continue their quest to no longer be freaks. Both girls end up in embarrassing situations before an ending that is satisfying.This is not your typical formula teen mean-girl movie, although after a while it does seem remarkably normal. Most of the leading actors do a really good job, and the two guys playing the female leads are among the best. At no time do they convince us that they are female, but that doesn't seem necessary. It does require imagination.Cassandra Peterson, best known as Elvira, is so unbelievably nice and quite pretty as Cassie's mom. Mostly nice, anyway.By the end of the movie, we have heard positive messages that give this movie some significance beyond being just silly, and we learn a lot about what made certain characters the way they are.At first I was going to say that college students who need a safe place because they are easily offended should stay far away from this movie. But the Sue Sylvester level of cruelty doesn't last that long, and as I said before, later in the movie it's just the ordinary mean girl stuff. And most of the characters have the right attitude, at least by that time. Early in the movie, the combination of unbelievable confidence in the absence of a reason and unthinkable nastiness gives us hilarious results. The movie can't keep up that level of hilarity and it's just not funny at times later, but doesn't have to be. The seriousness is appropriate and needs to be.Overall, it's wildly insane and certainly worth seeing.

It's once in a blue moon that a film can make me have to stop laughing for a second because the back of my head is hurting and my cheeks feel like they are going to fall off. The evening started out as surfing Netflix with my boyfriend, how every excellent movie find goes nowadays, and without saying anything to me he picked this movie and we were off on what we thought was going to be an absolutely terrible film with low budget and zero laughs from the first 10 minutes. (Just really rocky, and you have to get a feel for the film.) Don't be fooled with this one though folks. About the time the teachers and school are starting to be introduced is when it really kicked into gear for me.Written by and starring Brandon Alexander III, this man brings us a surpassing in hilarity parody of 80s teen satires that is wrapped up in the perfect amount of pizazz and sincerity that it comes off as a genuinely funny piece of work, and not another run of the mill independent comedy. The main character is most definitely the best thing about the movie. Cassandra "Totally Rockin' Superstar Extraordinaire" Glenn, You're Welcome, brings to the movie nothing but constant joke after joke, as the writer would have the best lines and character for himself. Sometimes jokes so quick and witty, others so slapstick that it juggles that laughing trigger in your mind to the point where you will be laughing carrying on into the next hilarious scene for all different reasons. Yes, as with any film that tries really hard, not all the jokes are a hit. There are just some parts that are a bit awkward, and like I said it is very obvious they are trying really hard to pull all the laughs out of the audience they can get, which I usually hate, but hey, it totally works in this case! This is a completely joyous experience from beginning to end.The supporting characters are all completely memorable and in their own skin as well. Maggie is an excellently portrayed best friend till the end by Dudley Beene. Though Alexander is the star, Beene brings his own flair and personality to the screen in the best way possible. The Heathers are snotty and unlikable, how they are supposed to be, but in that way likable. Their boyfriends even have a nice role as the misunderstood gay guys of the group, and their mother played by none other than Cassandra Peterson (Ms. Elvira) has heartfelt speeches the audience has heard a million times over in any teen drama with a positive message. All of it was great material to work with and the actors captured it perfectly.An excellent comedy, more so if somewhat dark, somewhat raunchy, drag comedy is your thing. Even with low budget, there are scenes that feel more professional and put together than most blockbusters nowadays. I will definitely be watching this movie again soon, and will definitely be showing it to my friends.

Written by and starring Brandon Alexander III who plays Cassie. She is the new girl at school and like all teens she just wants to be popular, date the hottest guy, eat sugary deserts and win the talent competition. Problem is Heather and the Other Heather are already super cool and have the boyfriends – the cute Brett and his best bud Dirk who is hotter than Satan's Microwave. On her first day she meets Maggie (Dudley Beene) who is about as popular as a pork pie at a Bar mitzvah. But girls will be girls and they soon hit it off. The problem is when you have super biatch's like the Heather's in the mix it means all competition has to be eliminated and dreams must be trashed or they will not remain uber cool. Cue a week of shenanigans, loose underwear and partays, (sic) oh and some actual sick! This is a genuine comedy with laughs scattered throughout like mozzarella on a 12" pizza – with a stuffed crust. Even the school teacher (Mr Klein) is dysfunctionally brilliant. Everyone gets to have a few good lines and the warmth shines through. This is one of those films that are destined to become a cult classic or even better. I enjoyed every single second and can't wait to watch again. After years of alleged 'comedies' where you can cram all the best lines into a thirty second trailer, it is a breath of fresh air to get one which keeps the hits coming; and that is right up to the final scene. I simply can not recommend highly enough, watch alone, watch with friends, watch drunk or sober or any way you choose but just watch it – excellent.

I've seen this movie twice on the festival circuit and I can't wait to see it again. It is a laugh riot from beginning to end. Every possible comedic moment is taken advantage of by this very talented cast and crew. Director Charlie Vaughn did a great job making sure all of the actors were portraying characters that lived in the same world. The script comes alive thanks to everyone in this movie with the main duo of Brandon Alexander and Dudley Beene drawing you in and almost immediately forgetting that the actors aren't really 16 year old girls. A lot of independent film falls apart in the post production but First Period is directed, styled and edited beautifully. This movie is well done all the way around and considering it is an independent movie done on a shoe string budget it is that much more of a towering achievement!