''LolliLove'' is a 2004 American

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

co-written by, directed by and starring

Jenna Fischer Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...

. The film satirizes a hip, misguided

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

couple who decide to make a difference in the lives of the

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

by giving them

lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are availa ...

s with a cheery slogan on the wrapper.

Production

The film stars

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a director ...

, Fischer's then-husband, and Peter Alton, who were also co-writers, though about half of the film's dialogue was

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

by the cast. Fischer talked about the creative process behind the film in an interview with a St. Louis magazine: The film mixes fact and fiction: Gunn's and Fischer's characters are named James and Jenna Gunn, the film was shot in their actual home, and it incorporates footage from their real-life wedding and home movies.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

cost $1,500 and was completed in 12 days. The film premiered at the

St. Louis International Film Festival The St. Louis International Film Festival (also known as SLIFF or Cinema St. Louis) is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 2003 ...

(in the hometown of Fischer and Gunn) in November 2004 and appeared at the

Sonoma Valley Film Festival Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting the best in independent film and filmmakers from around the world, inspiring savvy film lovers and introducing the power of film to stude ...

and the TromaDance Film Festival in 2005, and screened during the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

market in May 2006. It was released on DVD by

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

on March 7, 2006.

Cast

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews. A reviewer 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), ...

'' described it as "spot-on satire" and "chuckle-packed and satisfyingly tasteless" and wrote that the film "nails the condescending vapidity, manufactured drama and ludicrous self-importance of reality shows". Adam Hackbarth, who interviewed Fischer, recommended the film as a "gritty and hilarious Trojan horse assault on the typical self-loving weekend philanthropist." Upon the film's DVD release, the ''

DVDTalk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' review said it is "one of the best films of the year - a riotous comedy about charity and the homeless. Really," in spite of being released by

Troma Films Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

, and credits director Fischer with infusing "the terribly tricky genre with just the right amount of raucous realism." In ''

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...

'', the film is described as "so damned believable that it’s difficult, at times, to watch. Director Jenna Fischer has done a remarkable job here and if she continues on this esoteric and off-beat path she may find herself among the ranks of

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in ...

and company." Nathan Rabin of

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

found it "funny, smart and casually satirical," but noted, "even at sixty-five minutes it still feels a little padded, like a killer short film on steroids."

Awards

*For her role in the film, Fischer was awarded a

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

Emerging Actor Award. *For her feature directorial debut, Fischer won the 2005

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

Independent Soul Award at the 2005 Tromadance film festival,TromaDance Press Conference at the American Film Market 2005
. Tromadance.com. 2005. Press Release. hosted by the company that

previously worked for, where he created the

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Tromeo and Juliet ''Tromeo and Juliet'' is a 1997 American independent transgressive romantic black comedy film and a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Romeo & Juliet'' from Troma Entertainment. The film was directed by Lloyd Kaufman from a screenplay b ...

.''

References

External links

* *
''LolliLove''
(Flash video) at

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

.com {{James Gunn 2004 films 2004 comedy films American comedy films American satirical films Films directed by Jenna Fischer Films set in Los Angeles American mockumentary films Films with screenplays by James Gunn Troma Entertainment films 2004 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films