Art House (1998) from Tuna

Art House (1998) is one of several releases of unknown indies from a distribution company called The Asylum. It is the first with identified exposure, and is the best one so far. They are affordable, and you are not likely to have seen them elsewhere, but none of them will end up on anyone's top 250 list. 
Art House is a send-up of the indie scene. Our hero, Joe Baker, is a wannabe producer/director/screenwriter. He pays the bills by working an espresso bar, where much of the action takes place. He joins forces with a "cool" friend who makes several big moves, like getting them agents that won't promote them, but will accept their 10% if the two happen to sell something. Joe moves in with porn star Tony when his girlfriend throws him out. 

NUDITY REPORT

Erin Ramirez comes out of Tony's bedroom to get a bottle of champagne and some strawberries wearing only a pair of panties
I wouldn't say this was a laugh a minute. The transfer was grainy, which makes me suspect super16 film was used for filming, then enlarged to 35. IMDB readers say 6.1/10, which is a little higher than I expected. Nobody else has heard of it. 

The Critics Vote

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The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 6.1. surprisingly high. 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics - or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C-.

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