May 22, 2023 · Watch the trailer
Fish out of water tales are far from uncommon in cinema.
Conventional screenwriting techniques often place a protagonist in an unlikely, unfamiliar situation in order to provide drama, horror, suspense and/or comedy and help immediately engage audiences.
Put a failing young actor from Los Angeles in Buffalo Gap, for example, and watch him flounder about in West Texas and it’s the premise for a new independent dramedy set to screen Saturday, June 3, at the Hill Country Film Festival in Fredericksburg.
Starring Thomas Haden Church, “Chocolate Lizards” from director Mark Lambert Bristol is an independent dramedy filmed in Central Texas based on the novel of the same name by Cole Thompson as recently fired actor Erwin Vandeveer gets stranded in West Texas where he is taken in by a charismatic oil driller in need of a saving grace to help keep his business afloat.
“Outer Banks” star Rudy Pankow has an affable charm as Erwin, which lends itself to overcoming the stigmas placed on Erwin as essentially the foreigner in another land. Texas audiences will grow to appreciate the character after his early unlikability fades as he acclimates to a blue-collar lifestyle.
Church shines as oil driller Merle, whose straightforward affectation, slight gnarl to his voice and cool demeanor under pressure makes him an instant favorite with audiences. It’s especially endearing to see how much Church seems to take Pankow under his wing like Merle does with Erwin over the course of the film and their pseudo-father son chemistry grows to the point where at times, it almost feels like “Chocolate Lizards” is the pilot episode of a television miniseries rather than a contained feature film.
“The Matrix” star Carrie-Anne Moss has a solid turn as Merle’s love interest and café owner Faye, while veteran actor Bruce Dern steals scenes with his no-nonsense dry personality as eccentric ranch owner Scheermeyer.
The screenplay from Julie B. Denny has a lighthearted humor to it that most Texans will surely appreciate, especially as Erwin struggles to adapt to a more rugged, blue-collar life than he’s used to.
There’s a certain authenticity that Church and the actors playing Merle’s roughneck crew bring to the dialogue that make the relatively straightforward dialogue stand out as punchlines. Telling a new coworker that not wearing steel-toed boots could get your toes chopped off doesn’t seem like comedy at first blush, but with the proper line delivery and context makes for one of the more amusing scenes of the film.
Visually, “Chocolate Lizards” has a more dynamic energy than most independent dramedies in the same style with cinematographer Matthew Wise taking advantage of the film’s West Texas setting for some terrific landscape shots to help set the tone and scenes around oil rigs especially pop, although one action sequence in the film’s third act – while fun – feels out of place in the larger context of the story.
Bristol does employ a lot of tight closeup shots on his actors in dialogue scenes that can occasionally lack the same sense of place as the more open-frame angles, but the crisp dialogue and solid acting performances help offset this.
“Chocolate Lizards” is a fun, lighthearted independent dramedy that Texas audiences should enjoy whether on the big screen at Hill Country Film Festival or down the road aways with an at home viewing.
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