''The Mother of Invention'' is a 2009 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 ...
-style comedy film directed by
Joseph M. Petrick and
Andrew Bowser
Andrew Bowser is an American actor, writer and director best known for his fictional character 'Onyx the Fortuitous'.
Collaborating with Joseph M. Petrick, Bowser co-directed and starred in the independent comedy ''The Mother of Invention''. B ...
, with screenplay by Petrick. The film stars
Jimmi Simpson
Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his work on television, which includes recurring roles as Liam McPoyle on ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–2013), Lyle the Intern on ''The Late Show ...
,
Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...
,
Mark Boone Junior
Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...
,
Dee Wallace
Deanna Wallace (née Bowers; born December 14, 1948), also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mary Taylor, the mother in the 1982 blockbuster film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She is ...
,
Craig Anton
Craig Ward Anton (born August 28, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Pettus in ''Lizzie McGuire'' and Lloyd Diffy in ''Phil of the Future''.
Early life
Anton was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, t ...
,
Ruby Wendell
Ruby Wendell is an American actress and comedian. She has appeared on ''Last Comic Standing'' and has acted in independent films such as ''The Mother of Invention'', ''I'm Not Like That No More'' and ''Ashes''.
Biography
Ruby Wendell was born ...
, F. Jason Whitaker and
Chris Hardwick
Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosts ''Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' The ...
. It features cameos by
Dave Allen, Chris Franjola,
Keir O'Donnell
Keir O'Donnell is an Australian–American actor, best known for his roles in the films ''Wedding Crashers'', ''The Break-Up'', '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'' and ''American Sniper'' as well as numerous television appearances.
Early life
O'Donnell ...
,
Martha Madison
Martha Madison (born Martha Anne Butterworth; July 27, 1977) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Belle Black on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''.
Early life
Madison was born in Newport News, Virginia. She was raised ...
and
Ron Lynch. The film premiered at the 2009
Sci-Fi-London
Sci-Fi-London (stylised as SCI-FI-LONDON), also known as The London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film or simply SFL, is an annual United Kingdom-based film festival dedicated to the science fiction and fantasy genres. ...
film festival internationally and the
Hollywood Film Festival
The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in Los Angeles, California, USA.
History
The Hollywood Film Festival was established in 1997 by author and producer Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington.Pete ...
domestically. The original score was composed and performed by Jim Hanft and the credits feature an original song by the band
Copeland.
The film was released on DVD and digitally on June 14, 2011 and can be purchased at the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
and
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
. It became available on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
for instant streaming on August 2, 2011.
Plot
The film follows Vincent Dooly (
Andrew Bowser
Andrew Bowser is an American actor, writer and director best known for his fictional character 'Onyx the Fortuitous'.
Collaborating with Joseph M. Petrick, Bowser co-directed and starred in the independent comedy ''The Mother of Invention''. B ...
), an aspiring inventor who dreams of winning the Thomas Alva Edison Award for Young Inventors (or "Eddy"). Each year, he enters and each year he humiliates himself with an invention that malfunctions in one way or another. A documentary crew follows Vincent in the last year that he is eligible to compete for the award, at the same time following Martin Wooderson (
Jimmi Simpson
Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his work on television, which includes recurring roles as Liam McPoyle on ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–2013), Lyle the Intern on ''The Late Show ...
), a smug wunderkind with a long history of winning the award with dull but marketable inventions. Through the months leading up to the Eddy's, Vincent mentions (in a clandestine manner) an invention he is working on that he is sure will change his losing streak but refuses to reveal more. We meet Vincent's best friend Gunter (F. Jason Whitaker), his endlessly supportive mother (
Dee Wallace
Deanna Wallace (née Bowers; born December 14, 1948), also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mary Taylor, the mother in the 1982 blockbuster film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She is ...
), his tweaked-out father (
Mark Boone Junior
Mark Boone Junior (born Mark Heidrich; March 17, 1955) is an American character actor, best known for his TV roles as Bobby Munson in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–14) and Patrick "Pat" Brown in '' Last Man On Earth'', and film roles in Christopher ...
), his love-interest, Jenny, a waitress who works at a local diner he frequently visits (
Ruby Wendell
Ruby Wendell is an American actress and comedian. She has appeared on ''Last Comic Standing'' and has acted in independent films such as ''The Mother of Invention'', ''I'm Not Like That No More'' and ''Ashes''.
Biography
Ruby Wendell was born ...
) as well as his hero, a surly junkyard worker (
Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...
).
As the story moves along we see Vincent's attempt at perfecting his many inventions and see him emotionally prepare for his last chance to win the coveted award while attempting to win the heart of Jenny. The film culminates at the award ceremony where Vincent and Martin unveil their final inventions, preparing for the prize.
References
*http://www.hollywoodawards.com/comedy.html
*http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/80447834/
*http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2009/04/06/SciFi-London-Film-Festival-is-rarin-to-go-from-April-29th-to-May-4th
*http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2009/01/02/Hialrious-trailer-for-new-mockumentary-THE-MOTHER-OF-INVENTION
*http://videogum.com/40151/the_mothers_of_invention_2009s/movies/trailer/
External links
*
*
*
Interview with writer/co-director Joseph M. Petrick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mother Of Invention, The
2009 films
2009 comedy films
American comedy films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films