Frank and Penelope
Frank and Penelope
Genres Horror ,Thriller
Directors Sean Patrick Flanery
Writer Sean Patrick Flanery
Country United States
Votes 1087
Rating 5.3
IMDBID tt4459134
Runtime 112
Languages English
Release 07 Aug, 2022
Cast Billy Budinich ,Caylee Cowan ,Johnathon Schaech ,Brian Maillard ,Sydney Scotia
In the spirit of THELMA and LOUISE and TRUE ROMANCE comes FRANK and PENELOPE, a once in a lifetime love story that stretches across the scorching east Texas blacktop when a man, Frank, on his emotional last legs finds his savior and soulmate, Penelope, seductively dancing on a wobbly brass pole in a run-down strip club. And, a life most certainly headed off a cliff is redirected by the type of love that most call mad. But, unwinding each other's troubled life threads creates knots that threaten to strangle the place where all the veins meet when they sit down at a charismatic, sin-eating cult leader's truth table and unpack each other's cluttered closets. And, deciding what to run from and what to run to becomes a bloody battle between life and love in their newfound world in which EVERYTHING is now worth dying for.
Wuchak
**_Beauty and the Beast in West Texas_** A heartbroken man in Austin (Billy Budinich) meets a winsome exotic dancer (Caylee Cowan) and they head toward West Texas, but unfortunately end up in the wrong town, ran by a charismatic, but twisted sage (Johnathon Schaech). Kevin Dillon is on hand as the Sheriff. “Frank and Penelope” (2022) is a quirky romantic road movie within the context of a crime drama/thriller written & directed by Sean Patrick Flanery, who’s perhaps best known as the star of “Powder” (1995). His style is reminiscent of Tarantino and a maybe Rob Zombie, but with some artsy flair akin to, say, Darren Aronofsky. Flicks like “Psycho III” (1986), "True Romance" (1993), “Chasers” (1994), "Love and a .45" (1994), "Kalifornia" (1993) and a little "The Hot Spot" (1990) come to mind, along with a bit o’ “Ravenous” (1999). Schaech as Chisos is even reminiscent of Neal McDonough in “Ravenous.” As far as I’m concerned, “Frank and Penelope” is the best of all of ’em (it’s at least on par with the top ones). To be expected with such a list, there’s an amount of sleaze, violence, ugliness and twistedness that you’ll have to roll with, but there are also glimpses of beauty and light. For instance, lust and love are contrasted. Speaking of beauty, Caylee is a revelation in the tradition of Marilyn Monroe. And the desolate West Texas locations are scenic while the bright palette is a highlight. I’m so glad that fad of a muted colors from a dozen years ago is (hopefully) over. I should add that lovely Sydney Scotia is also featured in the fairly prominent role of Molly. The film runs 1 hour, 52 minutes, and was shot in Austin and Terlingua, Texas, the latter of which is in the Big Bend area. GRADE: A-
posts by : Wuchak