Hard Luck

After winning three awards at last year's Method Fest, festival regulars Jack Rubio and Kirk Harris' most recent filmic collaboration finally bows in theaters. As with many Method Fest alumni, the film features fine acting but often falters in the plot department. Violent felon Lucky (Harris) escapes from a mental institution seemingly supervised by a sole incompetent guard and reunites with his remarried ex (Renée Humphrey) and her terminally ill brother (Matthew Faber) for one last trip to a childhood hideout. It's a narrative step down from Rubio and Harris' previous entry, My Sweet Killer -- Joe Gayton's Sweet Jane handled a similar story line in vastly superior fashion -- and Harris might want to consider not playing a homicidal maniac every time out, though he definitely has charisma (he kinda-sorta looks like he could be Jack Black's evil sibling). Still, it's impressive given that production took only 15 days, even if the soundtrack (excessive choral numbers and banal, public-domain-sounding jazz-rock) basically sucks. Watch for cameos by Karen Black, director Rubio and irritating underground English actor Jon Jacobs.