Part
Project
X, part existential sci-fi head-scratcher with echoes of
Invasion of
the Body Snatchers, Dennis Iliadis'
+1 (or Plus One) is a unique and endlessly
entertaining addition to the teen comedy genre. With time travel and alternate
realities tossed into the mix of hedonistic young partygoers doing body
shots, engaging in public sex, and playing games of flaming tennis, it's
undoubtedly the weirdest exploration of teen angst and disaffection we've seen
in a very long time, but the strength of
+1 is that it doesn't get too bogged down
in a philosophical bent. Instead it asks you to sit back, enjoy the ride, and watch the most awesome and insane party ever.
Before we get to the epic bash we're introduced to a cast of characters
ripped right out of the
Can't Hardly
Wait playbook. There's unmotivated loverboy David (Rhys Wakefield), who
has just been caught cheating by his sexy girlfriend Jill (Ashley Hinshaw), and
now all he wants is to win her back, even if it means throwing himself at her
mercy in the middle of a bunch of drunken party animals. Also present and
accounted for is Allison (twins Colleen and Suzanne Dengel, dead ringers for
Lauren Ambrose), a loner not all that hip to hanging with the cool kids; and
Teddy (Logan Miller) who just wants to get laid. Iliadis doesn't waste too much
time digging into who these characters are because we recognize them instantly,
either from our own lives or from gawking at hundreds of hours of teen
comedies. While everybody is busy wallowing in their own problems, there's the
much bigger problem of an asteroid or something headed towards Earth. But who
cares about something like that when you're trying to get some tail?
The bulk of the film takes place at a bash to rival anything ever thrown at
Jujyfruit’s (that's a
Nowhere
reference for you Gregg Araki disciples), and the levels of excess are
staggering to say the least. There's a naked chick allowing sushi to be eaten
off her body, dudes taking shots through their eyeballs, a neon-lit strip show
and that's just a fraction of it. Some guy might be dead on the couch, too. Oh,
and there's that asteroid again. Once it crashes the sh*t hits the fan real
quick as the guests start multiplying, with their cloned doppelgangers
reenacting the events from just a few minutes earlier. Every time a blackout
hits, the clones move a little bit closer to the current time, but what happens
then? Are they dangerous? Are they trying to take over the lives of the
originals? Most are too hammered to even notice, but David sees it as a chance
to fix his mistakes with Jill. It doesn't really matter if it's the real Jill,
either. And Teddy sees the most awesome night of his life, scoring with the
hottest chick in the house; get extremely weird when he has to watch his clone
score too.
Part of the fun of
+1 is watching how the various characters react to
meeting their doubles. Some embrace it, others approach it with extreme
caution, and a few have violence on their minds. The mystery of the clones'
true purpose builds to a suspenseful and exciting head, and Iliadis also knows
how to have fun with the silly concept. That does seem to be the ultimate
point, to merely have fun with the concept and remain light on details or
explanation, and even when the film wraps up in a hail of self-mutilating
violence there are no answers forthcoming. Wakefield has a long way to go to be
anything other than a dude with a creepy grin, but Hinshaw is more convincing
as the scorned Jill.
+1 is loaded with house party chaos and it's fun solely on that level, but the sci-fi elements could help make it a cult favorite.
Before we get to the epic bash we're introduced to a cast of characters
ripped right out of the Can't Hardly
Wait playbook. There's unmotivated loverboy David (Rhys Wakefield), who
has just been caught cheating by his sexy girlfriend Jill (Ashley Hinshaw), and
now all he wants is to win her back, even if it means throwing himself at her
mercy in the middle of a bunch of drunken party animals. Also present and
accounted for is Allison (twins Colleen and Suzanne Dengel, dead ringers for
Lauren Ambrose), a loner not all that hip to hanging with the cool kids; and
Teddy (Logan Miller) who just wants to get laid. Iliadis doesn't waste too much
time digging into who these characters are because we recognize them instantly,
either from our own lives or from gawking at hundreds of hours of teen
comedies. While everybody is busy wallowing in their own problems, there's the
much bigger problem of an asteroid or something headed towards Earth. But who
cares about something like that when you're trying to get some tail?
The bulk of the film takes place at a bash to rival anything ever thrown at
Jujyfruit’s (that's a Nowhere
reference for you Gregg Araki disciples), and the levels of excess are
staggering to say the least. There's a naked chick allowing sushi to be eaten
off her body, dudes taking shots through their eyeballs, a neon-lit strip show
and that's just a fraction of it. Some guy might be dead on the couch, too. Oh,
and there's that asteroid again. Once it crashes the sh*t hits the fan real
quick as the guests start multiplying, with their cloned doppelgangers
reenacting the events from just a few minutes earlier. Every time a blackout
hits, the clones move a little bit closer to the current time, but what happens
then? Are they dangerous? Are they trying to take over the lives of the
originals? Most are too hammered to even notice, but David sees it as a chance
to fix his mistakes with Jill. It doesn't really matter if it's the real Jill,
either. And Teddy sees the most awesome night of his life, scoring with the
hottest chick in the house; get extremely weird when he has to watch his clone
score too. 
Part of the fun of +1 is watching how the various characters react to
meeting their doubles. Some embrace it, others approach it with extreme
caution, and a few have violence on their minds. The mystery of the clones'
true purpose builds to a suspenseful and exciting head, and Iliadis also knows
how to have fun with the silly concept. That does seem to be the ultimate
point, to merely have fun with the concept and remain light on details or
explanation, and even when the film wraps up in a hail of self-mutilating
violence there are no answers forthcoming. Wakefield has a long way to go to be
anything other than a dude with a creepy grin, but Hinshaw is more convincing
as the scorned Jill. +1 is loaded with house party chaos and it's fun solely on that level, but the sci-fi elements could help make it a cult favorite.
