The 3 Must-See Movies from Sundance

Sundance correspondent Karina Longworth on the films that wowed—and those that just couldn’t live up to the hype.

Considering all the Sundance-related signage that greets arrivers at the Salt Lake City airport, it’s a wonder there isn’t a banner at baggage claim bearing the most important message for festival attendees: Beware Buzz.

Every year, a handful of titles enter the festival with that extra variable that defies definition, but which guarantees at least one packed screening and a passel of press coverage before the jig is up. There have been occasions where that first, hotly anticipated Sundance screening went as well as anyone could have hoped—the premiere of Little Miss Sunshine in 2006 comes to mind—but much more often film festival buzz is self-defeating. Not only does it create expectations that are impossible to fulfill, but when must-see films are picked as must-sees (whether by journalists, publicists, or festival programmers), it robs the serious movie lover of the element of surprise that makes a film festival worthwhile.

So with Sundance 2009 now finally a thing of the past, here’s a look at three films that failed to live up to the pre-fest buzz, three films that triumphed in spite of having none, and one award-winning title that perfectly performed to great expectations.

SURPRISE SUCCESSES

Kerry Brown An Education There was certainly a modicum of interest in this Lone Scherfig-directed, Nick Hornby-scripted '60s period romance going into the festival, but its ultimate triumph—including winning the Audience Award, landing one of the biggest distribution deals of the week—is a classic example of Sundance buzz feeding itself. The Festival booked the film’s premiere screening at The Egyptian, one of Park City’s smallest venues. Buyers and certain other industry types are allowed to walk into Sundance screenings without waiting in line, and somehow the theater staff kept letting those VIP badgeholders in without taking note of the current headcount inside. I ended up as one of at least 30 ticketholders standing in the theater’s aisle for 20 minutes, with no seats in sight. News of this over-packed house spread around town like wildfire, and by that evening An Education had become Sundance 2009’s ultimate must-see. By the time I finally got a seat at the screening a few days later, the film print had been altered to open with the logo of its new US distributor, Sony Classics.

Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival Humpday Lynn Shelton’s micro-budget dude-com went into Sundance as the ultimate underdog: no stars, no studio financing or distribution, and a plot involving two straight guys having sex with each other that had at least one movie blog’s commenters arguing about whether it was homophobic to read the synopsis and say, “no thanks.” But Humpday won over critics, buyers and audiences the old-fashioned way—by being really, really entertaining. The Sundance jury was impressed, too, creating a Special Jury Prize for the Spirit of Independence specifically for the film. In an echo of constant talk at this year’s Festival on nontraditional release strategies, Magnolia will release Humpday in late summer on video-on-demand first; a month later, it’ll open in theaters.

Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire The ultimate out-of-nowhere success story of Sundance 2009, Lee Daniels’ gritty drama about an obese, pregnant teen (Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe) and her mentally ill mom (Mo’Nique—she of Phat Girlz—in an already Oscar-buzzed performance) received a standing ovation at its first screening. It also on to win three jury prizes—the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award, and a special acting mention for Mo’Nique. Despite whispers that there’s no logical market for Push (more than one of its detractors has claimed that it’s a film about poor black people made for rich white people), rumors are afloat that the movie will soon sell to Lionsgate or The Weinstein Company.