VHYes (2019) ***

 

This is an interesting, little oddity of a film. It uses the found-footage conceit. The story seems to be that this kid, Ralph, gets a VHS camera. Lacking a blank tape, he records over his parents' wedding video. Over several days, he makes short recordings of himself with his best friend, blowing up fireworks and such. They also discover that they can connect the camera to a TV and use it as a VCR, recording late-night soft-core flicks to watch later. New to the camera, Ralph ends up making a tape interspersed with youthful hijinks, late-night TV, and a few remaining clips of his parents' wedding.

“VHYes” is a comedy, with actors from “The State” and “Reno 911”, but it has a subtle undertone of sorrow. The beating heart of the movie is Ralph's mom, whose marriage is in trouble. In just a few, short clips, we get glimpses of this vibrant, happy girl at her wedding, still young inside years later, but having regrets. Ralph, as a prepubescent boy, is completely oblivious to all this, at least on the surface. As he tapes over his parents' wedding video, in a way, he is erasing the happy, girl-in-love that his mom once was, although glimpses remain.

This movie isn't for the faint of heart. The quick cuts on the “tape” are jarring, and some of the segments run a bit longer than they should. (A Bob Ross parody starring Kerri Kenney is creepy-funny and then just sort of becomes creepy-boring.) For those who have the patience for this kind of thing, though, it's funny and weird and kind of awesome.

3 stars out of 5