Loose Leaf Notes

Aka: So Many Boyfriends

I’m not good at estimating numbers, but Joe thought there were about 300 people at the Chantilly Farm outdoor screening of Geographically Desirable, a romantic comedy that was filmed in D.C. and Floyd. It must have been a sizeable group because when the writer/filmmaker, Mike Kravinsky, stood in front of the big blow-up screen and thanked the people of Floyd for their participation, he said, “This is the biggest crowd I’ve ever spoken to.”

The scene was like something out of the Drive-inn movie days but with lawn chairs and coolers and kids doing cartwheels on the grass while we all waited for it to get dark. Most everyone was from Floyd and it was quite the social scene.

The movie is basically about an overworked TV Newswoman from D.C. who inherits a house (and a dog) in Floyd from her recently deceased uncle.  She, Nicole, falls for a guy who owns a café (played by Floyd’s own Oddfella’s Cantina) and is prompted to reassess her stressful night shift job and city life in general.  I was told by someone during the fall filming (Mike’s wife I think) that Mike also worked in the TV News and that this movie, and especially his first movie (The Nextnik in 2010), paralleled his own leaving of the business/identity crisis, which eventually led him in the new direction of film making.

The movie includes some fun dream sequences, an emotional flashback between Nicole and her uncle, a Friday night Jamboree scene (filmed on a Wednesday) and even a pot smoking scene.  The filmmakers were looking for a hip, artist-type small town when they found Floyd, and the film wasn’t meant to depict the actual Floyd as much as it was to find the flavor and comedy in it, which wasn’t too hard to do.

There was a big cheer when Nicole first drove into Floyd and the “Welcome to Floyd” sign appeared on screen.”  Other familiar faces and places also got audience reaction.  It was fun to see the finished scenes that I saw being shot in the fall.  I’m amazed at how fast it got done and how well it all came together.

In another twist of humor, I was told that the people surrounding the film’s leading lady (Nicole, played by Blair Bowers) in the first photo above were (from left to right) the new movie boyfriend, the real life boyfriend, and the old movie boyfriend that she dumped.  That’s a lot of boyfriends! (Nicole’s mother in the film is also pictured).

Post notes: Ours was a complimentary debut screening.  The movie, which I and others will eventually want to own as a DVD, will now head off to the film festival circuit.  Watch the trailer with bits of  Floyd in it HERE. Check out the movie website HERE and visit Geographically Desirable on Facebook for updates.  HERE is a past blog post on the filming and HERE is a story I wrote for The Floyd Press about it.