Local Indie Buddy Film to Premiere at Roxy 

 Comedies about boys behaving badly are big business these days — just look at one of the summer's biggest hits, The Hangover. But can you make one for under $10K?

A foursome of UVM and St. Mike's grads — Patrick Simone, Patrick Cassidy, Andrick Deppmeyer and Adam Jaroszewski — have given it a try. You can see their movie, Self Helpless, this Thursday, October 15, at 7 p.m. at Merrill's Roxy Cinema in Burlington.

The film features the music and the acting debut of hip-hopper Devin the Dude. It was shot in Vermont, Mexico City and San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. Here's what the group's press release says about the process:

Not for the faint of heart, the production of Self Helpless was a year long hustle that at times forced us to get rogue with it.  Forging filming permits, sleeping in Mexico City’s squalor, making back alley deals for kilograms of  “explosive powder”, maxing out credit cards, straining our friendships, permanently borrowing equipment and food and whatever else, guzzling coffee ‘til we crapped our pants, lying to machine-gun-totting federales, inducing insomnia through marathon editing sessions, and perhaps most daringly, keeping hopeful and focused every single day, in the face of the formidable odds that we would fail.  Only through sheer will has this movie come to be.

The trailer reveals that "Self Helpless" is a play on "self help," which is something the film's characters appear to sorely need. The press release calls it "a feature-length comedy targeted at 18-30-year-old guys," and based on the snippets here, they aren't kidding. There's an exploding car (or facsimile thereof) and some hot babes in a bar and some farting.

In short, maybe not my cup of tea (I'm waiting for Paranormal Activity), but if you're unexcited by the trailer for Couples Retreat and wondering when that Tucker Max movie is gonna make it to B'Town, I suggest you check out Self Helpless. Co-director Patrick Cassidy reports that it was recently accepted by NYC's Queens International Film Festival, also known as QIFF.