VHYes

VHYes – a surrealist, low-fi comedy developed by the brilliant minds of Jack Henry Robbins, Nunzio Randazzo, and Paul David Ritchie – flaunts offbeat humor and a captivating plot that delves into the nostalgic universe of analog technology. The movie was released in 2019, featuring performances from Jake Head, Christopher Marble, and Christian Drerup.

The movie is not just another run-of-the-mill comedy; it's a love letter to the '80s, predating the world swathed with digital convenience. The narrative embarks on a peculiar journey with a 12-year-old boy Ralph (Mason McNulty) who, after receiving a VHS camcorder as a Christmas gift, unwittingly begins to overwrite his parent’s wedding tape. The child protagonist weaves a fairy tapestry of late-night shows, home videos, and diverse oddball clips which seem like a random assortment at first glance but collectively add an idyllic charm to the entire narrative.

In its effervescent cast, Jake Head stands out with his eccentric brilliance. Portraying absurd characters transitioning through late-night infomercials, he adds a layer of pure absurdity to the retro festivities. Christopher Marble displays an impressive range of comic timing and versatility while Christian Drerup also plays a commendable role, maintaining a steady presence throughout the narrative. The ensemble cast collectively imparts a meaningful identity to the storyline, contributing towards creating an immersed, engaged audience.

The plot is intensively modeled around the world before the internet, where people were glued to their television sets, traversing through channels, experiencing synchronicity of content that was mostly beyond their control. This refreshing take on nostalgia, coupled with consistent humor and weird charm, offers a rather psychedelic view of the past. Various elements of the past like the music, fashion, and even televisual range are beautifully preserved, making VHYes an aesthetically gratifying watch.

Shimmering through the black and white premise are the wonderfully orchestrated full-color dreams that mysteriously predict snippets of the future. This dream element adds an undercurrent of existential anxiety about the imminent digital age. The movie wonderfully brings out these uncanny elements of premonition through subtle humor rather than making them overtly dramatic, which enhances the charm of the tapestry that the young Ralph is inadvertently weaving.

The movie presents a vivid ride through this analogue rollercoaster, employing surreal satire, horror, and sci-fi. It takes eccentric pieces like soap opera parodies, cooking shows, a bizarre detective series, televangelist sketches, and many more to assemble the idiosyncratic puzzle of the narrative. These fragments collaborate to create an anthology that is uniquely intriguing. The film owes a lot of its allure to the visual finesse that the filmmakers achieve despite sticking to the constraints of the VHS camcorder format.

The unique amalgamation of seemingly disparate parts in VHYes evokes an undercurrent of unexpected profundity. It reflects on the impermanence of things, the ephemeral nature of our lived experiences, and the constant evolution of technology that we struggle to keep pace with. Despite being a comedy, there's an underlying theme summoning deep thought about recording and retrieving memories in an era that predates cloud storage and smartphones.

Director Jack Henry Robbins' innovative execution in creating a movie with the primary tool being a VHS camcorder is laudable. It not only adds novelty to the narrative but also proves to be a pertinent commentary on the exponential speed of technological progression. The movie subverts contemporary film norms with its refreshing format, making it an adventurous exploration of an earlier time.

Robbins' VHYes is an impressive concoction of an absurdly hilarious narrative wrapped around a deep undertow of existential realism. The movie is a delightful tribute to nostalgia that beautifully unearths the past, presenting it in an engagingly refreshing format. It manages to not get lost in the nostalgia, rather uses it to present profound meditations on memory, actuality, and the blurred lines in between.

VHYes is an uncanny blend of comedy and contemplation, portraying a chaotic medley of offbeat humor that paints a vivid portrait of the late-night TV landscape. It's a unique exploration of the past, offering a funhouse mirror reflection of our own realities. Featuring stellar performances and an innovative storytelling style, VHYes is a must-watch for those yearning for a touch of nostalgia, a laugh, and a thought-provoking narrative. With its unique presentation style and narrative structure, this film certainly manages to leave a lasting impression on its audience.