Straight A’s. Imagine That.

by chris cunningham

For your Friday the 13th viewing pleasure I’ve decided to take you back 14 years to the classic “Straight A’s”. Set in the Bay Area at a large seaside University, the story revolves around the long held belief that if your college roommate dies they’ll give you straight A’s. This is long before that stupid MTV movie. While going to school with a collective of fellow film geeks we gathered in the very place we live and put together this movie in a few days. As it turns out it came out quite good considering the technology at the time. One being a camera and recorder that were separate. I had to carry the recorder with a strap on my shoulder. Other production highlights include the smoke machine that wouldn’t stop firing after we shut it off. Rod Reed’s effects work during the climax. Brilliant. If you like your horror fun, like “Bad Taste” from Peter Jackson, then this is for you. Does that mean we’re only four more films away from making “Lord of the Rings”? This is also a good look into where I lived holed up in a dorm for two years. If you look closely you’ll see my desk is in the closet. I really didn’t use it much for studying. Some things I did learn in college; how to juggle, how to ride a unicycle, and how to play “The Rain Song” by Led Zeppelin in it’s entirety. Now that’s college tuition spent right. And I wonder why I was a “C” student? Jeff, Keith, Ben and Fahim are the main characters, with Keith putting in a bravura performance as the wayward student. It ended up getting edited at the local cable station in Contra Costa county for free. It even won 2nd place in a contest from “Video Review” magazine. I think the prize was a camera bag. Ah… those were the days. Not a care in the world and looking for handouts. 15:45 secs. After 14 years, sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the killin’.