You can thank me later.
Chili Finger is a new film and is the feature debut of the directing duo of Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad. It debuted this year at SXSW. It stars Judy Greer as a trademark Midwestern empty nester who is coming to terms with her daughter going off to college. She then finds a finger in her chili. It rules and you should see it as soon as possible.
In a fair world, I could end my review here. Not because the movie is bad; I just told you, it rules. Nor is it the case that I don’t have more to say. I have a lot to say, from how beautifully the film is shot to how the film captures both the ennui and the menace lurking beneath Midwestern manners. There are performances from John Goodman, Sean Astin and Bryan Cranston that add to their already impressive resumes. There are performances from lesser known names like Paul Stanko, Sarah Hermann and Sarah Servigny that immediately put them in the “name to watch out for” category. Did I mention how funny it is? Because it’s hilarious and chilling and just so goddamned good.
And I don’t even have to tell you about how finally Judy Greer gets the leading role her career has always demanded, being put at the center of the frame to hold the whole story together. It is perhaps her strongest performance ever because the movie trusts her to hold it on her shoulders, and she carries it like a goddamned professional.
But this review should be over, because the more I talk about it the more I take away from your initial watch. The film isn’t exactly reliant on any particular twist; it isn’t shocking in a way that would betray a grand reveal the more I talk about it. But as another pair of Midwest co-directors taught us long ago, there is a joy in the unraveling. And Chili Finger unravels in the most glorious way, both to explosive and quiet moments. It has some of the finest, subtle face acting that I have seen in a long time, down to its final moment.
So that’s all I can tell you. If you are reading this early enough, are at SXSW and can see Chili Finger, I give my highest recommendation to do so. If you aren’t here, I can’t wait for whoever is lucky enough to pick it up releases it, and you should watch Chili Finger as soon as you possibly can. It is a special kind of movie, one that exposes the very contours of the American experience in beautiful and grotesque ways. It has such compassion for each flawed, doomed human it puts through its paces. It is beautiful and hysterical and horrifying all at once. A movie that immediately establishes Benda and Helstad as important filmmakers.
I don’t know when you will be able to see Chili Finger. All I do know is that whenever you can see it, do, because it is a special movie that you will only ever get to see for the first time once.
