Welcome back for another installment of Mubi Monday! This week we look at an American drama laced with dark comedy from Todd Berger with…It’s a Disaster (2012).
Title: It’s a Disaster (2012)
Director: Todd Berger
Released: June 20, 2012 (Los Angeles Film Festival)
Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes
Available to stream on: Mubi (also available on Peacock, Tubi, Kanopy, and Pluto)
Tracy (Julia Stiles) is on her way to a couple’s brunch with her friends. Coming to the brunch for the very first time, on what is only his third date with Tracy, is Glenn (David Cross). The other couples present include the hosting couple of Pete (Blaise Miller) and Emma (Erinn Hayes), Hedy (America Ferrera) and Shane (Jeff Grace), as well as Lexi (Rachel Boston) and Buck (Kevin M. Brennan). After a few brief pleasantries, Emma informs Tracy that they’re still waiting on the notoriously late couple of Jenny (Laura Adkin) and Gordon (Rob McGillivray). But fear not, because if they don’t show up by 12:30pm, the brunch will simply go on without them.
As everyone gathers around the table, they all begin to catch up and play “get to know you” with Glenn. When the three other men decide to go watch football in the other room, they discover that the television reception is out. If that wasn’t enough, the internet and even the land line have gone out. Pete, not caring that he’s about to do this in front of everyone, decides to cast blame on Emma for not paying the bills as a final middle finger to him before their divorce is finalized. And with that, the cat is out of the bag. What Emma and Pete wanted to wait until after brunch to tell everyone is now out in the open.
Before anyone in the group has a chance to really wrap their head around what just happened, there’s a knock at the door. It is Pete and Emma’s neighbor, Hal (Todd Berger), and he’s dressed up in a hazmat suit. The group lets him in as Hal reveals that the phones, internet, and television reception are all out as a result of multiple dirty bombs that were set off downtown. Naturally, everyone begins to panic. However, they manage to regain their focus and decide to search the house for supplies.
Glenn is voluntold to take the duct tape and tape shut all exterior doors and windows. Not long after Glenn finished this task, Tracy hears a knock at the back door. She peaks and it is Jenny and Gordon. Neither one of them look to be in good shape. They both are incredibly pale, and Gordon is bleeding from his nose and coughing uncontrollably. Jenny begs Tracy to let them in, but Tracy decides to make a tough decision for the betterment of everyone who is safely inside. She tells Jenny that her and Gordon wouldn’t be in this situation if they would just be on-time to events.
Tensions are high amongst everyone and as a result, secrets and truths begin revealing themselves. Each secret that comes out winds up complicated and/or jeopardizing at least one of the couples. What was intended to be a simple couple’s brunch has now devolved into an absolute disaster, both indoors and out in the world.
Will the couples be able to look past everything that has come to light in order to focus on surviving?
Or will all of these new revelations be the true disaster that dooms them all?
This week is another example of me not knowing much of anything about the movie before going into it. I stumbled across it while I was scrolling through Mubi and added it to my watchlist when I saw Julia Stiles, David Cross, and America Ferrera were in it. Despite streaming on four other platforms, Mubi was the only one where it appeared on the home page.
From the first interaction between Glenn and Emma, to the very last line of the movie, the banter between everyone is darkly hilarious. However, I certainly wasn’t sure how the end of life on Earth would play into the brunch hijinks. Luckily, the cast has such great chemistry together that the added dramatic impact of the dirty bombs doesn’t derail things but rather enhances them. When things take a turn towards the dramatic, they don’t stay that way for long. No matter the situation, comedy remains at the forefront of It’s a Disaster (2012).
I don’t want to spoil much of anything as this is a fun time that you should go into knowing as little about as possible. There is a lot to unpack with each character. We learn quite a bit over the course of the short runtime. Despite that, the story at its core remains rather simple. And you know what? Sometimes simple is best.
So, what are your thoughts on It’s a Disaster (2012)? If you’ve seen it, tell me what you thought in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!
Haven’t seen it yet but want to check it out? Here’s a free month of Mubi on me!
If you’re curious what else I’ve been watching, you can keep up over on my Letterboxd profile.