Gayby might be the first feature from writer/director Jonathan Lisecki, but its ace comic timing and deft depiction of physical humor suggest a seasoned comedic maestro. Expanded from a short that Lisecki shopped around the festival circuit in 2010 (it debuted at Slamdance and went on to hit more than 100 venues), the film is easily one of the year’s funniest, much thanks to its maker’s classic instincts for drumming up laughs. A veteran of independent theater, Lisecki couples a sharp, knowing wit with a mature sense of benevolence, yielding a well-rounded comedy for a demographic that desperately needs it. […]
by R. Kurt Osenlund on Oct 12, 2012Jonathan Lisecki’s award winning short Gayby screened at over one-hundred festivals world-wide, and it’s easy to see why. Lisecki takes a potentially divisive premise – a single woman looking to become a mother commissions her gay best friend to knock her up – and explores it in a style that’s so frank, honest, and completely hilarious that it’s impossible not to be charmed. Anchored by wonderful comic turns from Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas (who reprise their roles in the feature version), the Gayby short is available now on the new Wholphin No. 15. Lisecki meanwhile has been preppng the […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Mar 12, 2012SXSW has announced their complete 2012 feature film slate. Over 90 films will screen across the festival’s ten categories, including the already announced opening night premiere of Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods and a special preview screening of Lena Dunham’s new HBO series Girls. New additions include the sixteen films premiering in narrative and documentary competition. The eight films competing on the narrative side include Booster, directed by Matt Ruskin, Eden, directed by Megan Griffiths, Gayby, directed by Jonathan Lisecki, Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon, Los Chidos, directed by Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Pilgrim Song, directed by Martha […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Feb 1, 2012