Drawing Flies (1996)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Posted from myspace.com/lyonsfreelance.com An obsessed fan of Star Trek may be called a Trekkie. I call myself an Askewie: an obsessed fan of View Askew. There are now many films produced under View Askew, but the ones truly deserving to be obsessed by an Askewie are the ones in theView Askew Universe: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II (It is permittable, however, to enjoy other movies by the View Askew God, Kevin Smith, such as Jersey Girl and Zack and Miri Make A Porno) But what about their red-headed step-sibling? What about that rare lost View Askew film, Drawing Flies? What about it?Drawing Flies may be arguably part of the aforementioned series with many names:Askewniverse,New Jersey Trilogy, the Clerks films, etc. Although it is not written and directed by Kevin Smith, in which the others are, but by Malcolm Ingram, who did the less-known View Askew produced film, Small Town Gay Bar. Kevin Smith is, however, the producer, along with his partner, Scott Mosier (no, not that kind of partner, you sicko, that partner is Jen Schwalbach). The arguable points in favor are one: most of the cast are from other Clerks films (as Kev seems to enjoy recycling actors); and two: Askewniverse characters are employed in this film (as Kev seems to enjoy recycling characters).The said cast are Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Joey Lauren Adams (credited as Lauren Lyle), Renee Humphrey (Tricia Jones from Mallrats), and Carmen Llywelyn (Kim, Alyssa Jones's girlfriend in Chasing Amy; and the model of the poster in which Silent Bob crashes through and into the dressing room to reveal, again, Joey Lauren Adams, in Mallrats) (credited as her married name at the time to co-star, Jason Lee). The said characters are Silent Bob and William Black, portrayed respectively by their original actors, Kevin Smith and Ethan Suplee. The said are also credited as their character names ("Silent Bob as himself" and "Ethan as William Black").The story follows roommates, Lee, Lee, Mewes, Humphrey, and no-namer Martin Brooks, into the British Columbian woods for a camping/hiking trip after refused from their Welfare checks. Throughout their joint-and-vodka-fueled adventures, they stumble across a diaper clad gang led by Scott Mosier.Only later do they realize that they were used for a "delusional" mission of Jason Lee's character, Donner, to discover Sasquatch. After learning of Donner's ploy, wounded Az (Mewes) and Cassidy (Mrs. Lee) leave the rest of the gang to return to ....Vancouver...., while Meg (Humphrey) and Jake (Brooks) attempt to nurse Donner back to sanity. Meg and Jake fail however as Donner plunges to lows of rubbing himself in "sasquatch" feces and even eating it! The acting can be said to have been lost if wasn't for Mr. Lee's "Atlas" role of carrying the film on his shoulders, according to a reviewer on IMDb.com. Also, the quality is very low in the looks and sounds department. Clerks was also in black and white but did not look as shitty as this. In addition, I had a difficult time trying to classify the genre between my choices of comedy and drama, no clear signs were shown. Again, I'm going to have to recommend that you reserve some time from your busy movie-viewing life for Drawing Flies, the possible lost View Askew film.To read more reviews or other forms of writing from me, check out my aforementioned site.

I finally tracked down a copy of Drawing Flies on DVD - O.K., I had to go on holiday to Canada, but I got it, and that's the main thing! To be honest, I wasn't expecting much, as pretty much all I knew about the film apart from the View Askew connection was that it was very low budget, and in black & white. However, it's got a very `Clerks` style of script (no bad thing), and some sharp and witty lines. Unfortunately, to me, the script seems just a little underdeveloped. Not bad, just, not quite fully rounded. But hey it's low budget, and fun ... perhaps I'm being overcritical. The cameos are fun to spot - mostly under assumed names, too - and the cast seem to be having a whale of a time. One thought - wonder if the makers of The Blair Witch Project ever saw this film? Black and white / Lost in the woods / mysterious monster lurking / injuries / fallings out ....... Hmmmmmmm

This movie is great! I had a good time watching it. It is fun to watch this group of actors do their thing. Jason Lee stole the show once again. Watching his character get more and more insane was really hilarious. I recommend this movie to all Kevin Smith or Jason Lee fans.

I bought the Drawing Flies dvd without ever seeing the movie. I took a chance since it was a View Askew Production. The intro began with Kevin Smith saying this was the movie that he decided Jason Lee could do a full role in for Chasing Amy. Whatever. This movie is horrible. HORRIBLE. It's terribly acted, terrible plot, terrible everything. Don't bother. I rate it a D-. By the way, if you go to a Vulgarthon, don't be afraid to stand up and say how much the movie stank during the question session. But don't give up, go see A Better Place, a much better film and also a View Askew Production.