Tallywacker

Indie filmmaker Brendan Boogie (Sundown, The Sympathy Card) delivers a funny-forward, heartfelt buddy comedy about a two-man band, the titular Tallywacker. The duo consists of drummer Emmett (Chris Goodwin) and guitarist Aleister (Jeremy Dubs), who aspires to be more than a garage band. They soon get the chance when they are offered a gig opening for established rock star Carly Major (Rivera Reese). Since Aleister is confined to a wheelchair due to his osteogenesis imperfect—brittle bone disorder—his mother, Bonnie (Laurie Hamfeldt Mahoney), opposes the idea of them going on tour where she can't protect and watch over him. But Aleister is a grown adult who is eager to get at least a taste of the rock 'n' roll life on the road, even if he suspects the novelty of his disability might be the thing that's landed Tallywacker the gig.

The cast fully inhabit their characters with authenticity and grace, rendering an entertaining comedy that deals raucously and honestly with friendship, desire, envy, and pragmatism through various interpersonal relationships and never devolves into some kind of triumph-over-disability picture. Amanda McGrady's monochrome photography perfectly captures the vibe of wannabe rockers at the bottom of a local music scene's food chain in a way that feels utterly timeless (if you had told me this was a movie made during the late '80s/early '90s—my years frequenting bars and clubs like the ones in depicted here—I would almost believe you.)