Overrated

Good start, but then it gets ruined

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The acting in this movie is really good.

In the perpetual quest for ever higher production values, today's mainstream movies are boringly predictable. The power of films in the faux-documentary style such as Sweaty Betty is that they are, if anything, completely unpredictable. This film is pure, raw filmmaking, proudly bearing all its rough edges for all to see. Clearly, the movie has the spirit of Ozu, in that it focuses us on very intimate stories of normal people's lives, without any sentimentality or melodrama. The intentionally low quality of the video introduces the camera-as-character, drawing us further into the story. Having said that, I think that the lack of a tripod was the single most negative factor. The shaky camera work hurts the eyes over the 90 minute run of the film.