Suddenly I feel like doing paper-mache... (Frank - 2014 - R)

"Frank" starts by following Jon (Domhnall Gleeson - "About Time"), a wannabe musician and avid Twitter user, around the city streets as he tries to write a song. Unsuccessful, he eventually stumbles upon the SORONPRFBS, a band whose keyboardist happens to be trying to drown himself in a public display. In need of an emergency keyboardist, Don invites Jon to play at their evening show.

Jon finds himself immersed in a hot mess of sound as the band warms up, but is especially mesmerized when he sees Frank (Michael Fassbender - "X-Men: Days of Future Past"). Frank, the lead vocalist of SORONPRFBS, wears a permanent oversized paper-mache head. When the band decides they want Jon to replace their old keyboardist, they invite him to Ireland for the recording of their album.

Image credit: www.indiewire.com

Jon soon finds himself caught up in all of the creative freedom and realizes that the band could be a real hit among the indie crowd. He begins posting recorded videos of the album's progress on YouTube, which quickly grab the attention of some indie music diehards. Jon is fascinated with Frank and his natural ability to create a song about nearly anything - even a snag on a sofa - and gets wrapped up in knowing he can ride on the tails of this band's success. Based on the clips Jon posted online, SORONPRFBS gets invited to play at South by Southwest in Texas.

Frank's insecurities and nervousness get the better of him at SxSW and the band falls into turmoil. When the band members inevitably decide to ditch the gig, Frank has a total breakdown and runs away. Jon starts to feel guilty for setting himself up as the band's manager and leaves to search for Frank. Jon finally finds him in his hometown of Bluff City, Kansas, and reunites him with the band.

Image credit: www.moviefail.com

The movie was (very) loosely based on the fictional character, Frank Sidebottom, portrayed by real-life comedian/musician Charles Sievey, who passed away in 2010. As Frank, Sievey was known for wearing that large paper-mache head, and the movie itself takes Sievey's character inspiration, turning Frank into a more serious story exploring a darker side of the indie scene.

Video credit: JoBlo Movie Trailers, YouTube

Normally, I love a good off-beat independent film...but "Frank" fell a little flat. All of the elements were there - fantastic acting (especially from Fassbender), the weird-as-hell music (all played live as the scene was shot, by the way), even some genuinely witty humor. I just thought the film lacked a certain sparkle that I expected from all the hype. I watched and waited for that nugget of specialness, but it never arrived.

That being said, I wouldn't call "Frank" a let down. It told the story it wanted to tell and it catered to a more specific audience. So while "Frank" sadly didn't become an instant personal favorite as I hoped it would, I still know of a few friends that I would recommend it to for its very particular elements of awesome. Rating: 2.5/5 pints of Ben & Jerry's.