Ya gotta love movies whose entire plots are summed up in the title. And as far as that goes, "Izzy Gets the Fk Across Town" ranks up there with the Coscarelli masterpiece "John Dies At The End".
As far as the story of "Izzy Gets the Fk Across Town" goes, that's all you really need to know. But just for the sake of discussion I'll describe it a bit more. "Izzy" is the quintessential "hot mess". She barely survives life crashing on someone's couch because her bank account is perpetually $35 overdrawn. Throughout the entire film she's wearing a white tuxedo jacket with wine (or is it blood?) stains all over it which is never really explained until the final act. She is an angsty musician who hasn't taken her guitar out of the box for 2 years. And yet, as all hot messes go, she deludes herself into thinking that she's in total control of her life. If you know the type, or if you ARE the type, you will love her to death from the opening scene where she's trying to sneak out of a guy's bedroom but desperately has to pee.
The plot reveals itself quickly. Izzy's lost love is about to get engaged, and in order to stop it Izzy must... you guessed it... get the f across town. But this is no easy task for a hot mess.
What unfolds is a quirky, at times random, at times deeply poetic, adventure across LA where she meets bizarre characters, sort of like Alice in Wonderland meets Planes Trains and Automobiles. Episodes are arranged in short little vignettes and introduced with teasing titles such as "2. Give me my [f**] car, dick" and this presentation works wonderfully.
Side note: I can think of 2 other films that used this episodic approach masterfully: the Japanese masterpiece "Summer of Kikujiro" and the 90s classic "Singles", both of which fit right in the groove with audiences who would enjoy "Izzy".
Lead actress Mackenzie Davis knocks it out of the park with a really endearing portrayal of a tough protagonist who's perpetually 1 cup of coffee away from a nervous breakdown. All the supporting roles are fantastic as well, each character being extremely memorable even though they float in & out of her life like existential scenery. They do leave their mark.
The dialogue is witty, fast paced and subtle. In other words, don't expect any slapstick pratfalls or fart jokes. The humor is situational, quirky and often unspoken, perhaps like "The Office" only more subtle. If you get it, you'll be entertained from start to finish.
Cinematography and editing is fantastic, artistic without hitting you over the head with artsiness. Some scenes are deliberately hyper and disorienting (split screen), while the powerful scenes are carefully shot with no interruptions.
Big bonus points for an awesome indie punk, riot grrrl soundtrack and a powerful scene in the middle where Mackenzie and Carrie Coon sing a duet of "Axemen", a classic Heavens to Betsy song.
And ok, here is the "masterpiece" part I promised in my title. Despite its breezy approach and almost self-mocking presentation, this film has some profound, poetic moments that make you stop and realize that there is a deeper message here. And if you're paying attention, even the somewhat cryptic ending (which appears to have enraged at least 1 fellow reviewer) makes complete sense and caps the film perfectly. This is one of those films which make me long for the old imdb days of discussion boards, because the right audience could really dissect this.
I won't spoil it, but the theme revolves around Izzy's seemingly conflicted attitude that Fate controls everything--but at the same she is in control of everything. Yes, that's the "hot mess" attitude I mentioned earlier, where it may seem like she has no clue what she's doing with her life, and yet... maybe she knows something we don't. It also focuses on the way we romanticize things that we don't have, or lost, in a really poetic way. Watch the flick and digest the ending, and you won't be disappointed.
I can't think of many mainstream movies to compare this to, other than the 2 aforementioned, because "Izzy" has such an original flavor. But if you liked "(500) Days of Summer" or maybe even "Juno" I think you'll love this flick.
