Movies: THACO and Zero Charisma

Saw 2 movies this weekend that derive from tabletop RPG culture - THACO and Zero Charisma. I'm not good at reviewing movies as I ramble on so I will keep this as short as possible, first links to the movies:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408329/  -- THACO
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294965/?ref_=nv_sr_1  -- Zero Charisma

1. How did I watch them?
I rented both of them on Amazon Prime for $2.99 and $3.99 respectively.

2. Did I enjoy them?
Yes, as did my wife Gretchen. My kid, who is 12, also watched THACO and she seemed to enjoy it also as she sees herself as part of "modern nerd culture".

3. Do I recommend them?
Yes, each one for separate reasons. See below.

THACO came out in 2008. I've heard of it but never really sought it. I found it on Amazon Prime Friday night as me and the family had a night in and wanted to watch something new. I found THACO and decided the rental of $2.99 wasn't bad.

It's low budget, like the actors are first timers and have little experience. You can tell. That's OK. The story revolves around a gaming group of nerd-dudes in their 30s(?) and they are trying to game on their game night but one of them is really late. We see how the other 3 guys waste time while waiting for the 4th guy to show up. They tell jokes and anecdotes that are extremely gamer-centric. D&D gamer-centric and then you get into the other games like Shadowrun and GURPS. We even get a bit of pre Edition War edition wars (2ed vs. conversion to 3ed).

"I can be a drow monk?"

I got all the jokes, the Wife got half of them, the kid maybe got about 5% of them. It's because the guys that did this movie? My people. I grew up with them and am still them just with a job, wife, kid, car, and other interests and hobbies.

The editing is good, the movie never drags on. I liked every minute I was watching it.

The movie is PG-13ish. Some cussing and references that could be construed as salty. Other than that it is light and there is no heaviness to it. At the end, the 4th nerd guy shows up and all is well.

Zero Charisma came out late 2013, last fall. It is filmed in Austin and was crowd-funded with Indieagogo. Production is much more "professional" than THACO but still not "Hollywood". Was good though, like mistakes or over sites (if any) seemed to make the movie more realistic.

The main guy is a 30ish loser named Mark. You never really like this guy. If you are a gamer you've probably met him and not liked him. I have. Even if you have no similarities to Mark it is uncomfortable to watch him. Truly, he has Zero Charisma. Mark is the epitome of "loser D&D player". He has hit rock bottom without committing a crime.

Mark lives with Grandma in her house. He thinks it's his. His only friends are his loyal players of his home-brew fantasy system he's been running for 3 years. His job is at a doughnut shop. He got fired from his game shop job that has increased sales 200% since he was fired. It's been referenced in the movie he's been caught masturbating multiple times to comic books and manga. He doesn't know how to act around women nor have a normal conversation with peers that involves him saying things like, "That's awesome for you, good luck."

Some cool hipster-nerd enters and he's way cooler and nice to the game group. He has a cool job, hot girlfriend, cool nerd stuff PLUS he drinks beer and knows lot's of other cool hipsters and chicks. This is when things fall apart with Mark and then his estranged Mom shows up and G-Ma has a stroke. It just gets real uncomfortable in the end.

It's dark, and it's thoroughly enjoyable (and also not as "cliquey" as THACO thus a wider audience appeal). I know all the characters in the movie. I can relate to all the characters in the movie, both positive and negative.

So, if you want to see some gamer-dork movies, here's 2 you might like.