''How to Make the Cruelest Month'' is a 1998

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film written and directed by

Kip Koenig Kip Koenig is an American film and television producer and screenwriter. Koenig's most notable work has been on medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he has served as supervising producer and consulting producer for dozens of episodes, and h ...

and starring

Clea DuVall Clea Helen D'Etienne DuVall (born September 25, 1977) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. She is known for her appearances in the films ''The Faculty'' (1998), '' She's All That''; '' But I'm a Cheerleader''; ''Girl, Interrup ...

. The story centers on Bell, a young woman who resolves to accomplish her New Year’s resolutions—to quit smoking and to find love—before the end of December.

Plot

Bell is a neurotic young woman living in a small college town who addresses the camera to explain her problems—her parents are splitting up, older sister Sarah is happily married with a baby on the way, and her younger sister Dot is involved with Bell's ex-boyfriend, Leonard. Noting that people rarely stick to their New Year's resolutions, Bell decides she wants to accomplish the goals of quitting smoking and finding love before the year's end. One night, Bell lures Leonard to a remote area, and in the middle of sex with him, she abandons him, leaving him without his clothes. Trying to find his way back home, Leonard stumbles into the home of eccentric married couple, Manhattan and Christina. As Bell realizes that she is actually "smoking more and falling in love less", she starts to wonder if she might be a lesbian and tries going on a date with a woman.

Cast

Release

''How to Make the Cruelest Month'' premiered at the 1998

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. At the 1998 Long Island Film Festival, the film won the award for Best of the Fest.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'',

Emanuel Levy Emanuel Levy is an American film critic and professor who has taught at Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Wellesley College, Arizona State University and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinema ...

gave the film a mixed review. He praised the director's ideas and characters, as well as his sensitivity to the issues faced by young Americans. Levy drew comparisons between the film and

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's early films ("in spirit and ambition, if not in execution"). He also praised the ensemble cast and enjoyed DuVall's performance as the "tomboyish, neurotic Bell", although he noted the latter was "occasionally too intensely mannered." Among Levy's criticisms of the film were its "messy structure and lack of discipline", which he said often characterizes filmmakers' debut features.

References

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 160468, How to Make the Cruelest Month * http://www.filmscouts.com/scripts/film.cfm?Film=how-mak 1998 films 1998 independent films American independent films 1998 comedy films American comedy films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films