Michael Dowse Movies

Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan star as two friends who, despite their mutual attraction, give friendship a try in this romantic comedy from director Michael Dowse (Goon). ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

A floundering MIT graduate sends out the '80s with a bang after being invited to an end-of-summer bash by his former high school crush in this nostalgia-flavored comedy starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, and Dan Fogler. Matt Franklin (Grace) has just graduated from MIT, but he's content to spend his days stacking the shelves of his local Suncoast Video instead of going to work for a Fortune 500 company. Meanwhile, his sarcastic twin sister, Wendy (Faris), knows he can do better, and his best friend, Barry (Fogler), has a wild streak the size of the Mississippi River. When Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer) happens into the video store one day and strikes up a conversation with Matt, he compulsively lies about having a job at Goldman Sachs. Incredibly, Matt and Tori hit it off, and she invites him to join her for a massive summer blowout. The opportunity of a lifetime finally within reach, Matt arrives at the party in style, intent on sweeping Tori off her feet. Later, somewhere between the stolen car and the epic dance-off, Matt, Tori, Wendy, and Barry realize that this is the night they will still be thinking about when they're old and gray, and the neon-drenched '80s are just a distant memory. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A certified loser sets out to prove that he's "a real somebody" by procuring the three items that his childhood hero claims every winner has in this morbid comedy from writer/director Simon R. Ennis. Hard as he may try, Robert R. Mutt (Joshua Pearce) can never catch an even break; after failing to take his own life, he's kicked out of Riverside Mental Hospital for being too happy. Desperate to live up to his potential and prove that he's not a loser, Robert seeks out the advice of former local baseball superstar Clinton Manitoba (Michael Madsen). According to Clinton, there are three things a man needs to be whole: a woman, a nice wad of cash, and a championship ring. In no time, Robert has gotten mixed up in the drug racket, hooked-up with a roller-skating transvestite, and entered into an air hockey tournament. It may not be the most conventional path to success, but perhaps if Robert can stay true to his goal he can finally prove that he isn't the biggest nitwit in town. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Two young men ponder life, death, cheap beer, and the guitar stylings of Angus Young in this mock-documentary-comedy. Dean (Paul Spence) and Terry (Dave Lawrence) are a pair of Canadian metalheads who have devoted their lives to the manly arts of drinking beer, appreciating the finer points of heavy metal, and breaking stuff. Filmmaker Farrell (Gordon Skilling) has been trailing the pair with a camera crew in order to produce a documentary on their lives, and while initially there isn't much about Dean and Terry's existence that seems at all interesting, it looks like he may have hit pay dirt when Dean discovers he has cancer, and a possible tragic death looms on the horizon. FUBAR was the first feature film from writer and director Michael Dowse; the film was screened in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi