Interview With Jimmy Kustes: Writer and Actor Body Swap

Written by Luke Barnes

Hey Everyone! I recently had the chance to chat to Jimmy Kustes the writer actor star of Body Swap, a film about two very different people who swap bodies and have to experience things from the other’s point of view. We talked about the art of writing good dialogue, fixing up houses and Napoleon Dynamite

Q: If you were to describe body swap in a word what would it be?

JK:Independent.

Q: Who is your filmmaking inspiration?

JK: My two biggest are John Hughes and Billy Wilder. But I like the Andersons, PT Anderson and Wes Anderson. With a limited budget the one thing you need to focus on is the dialogue. I envy filmmakers that can make a film with just visuals. Ghost Story has very little talking but I’m not sure if I have that skill.

Q: What was your catalyst for making this film?

JK: I had the script lying around and had already done a small movie with the director Tim Morton called New Cops. My parents and brothers have been fixing up houses since I was a kid so making something that gets everyone involved and proud of their work that you can give to someone else is a great feeling. Unlike houses, making money off films is something not many people have figured out. There’s a reason New Kids on the Block and Vanilla Ice have HGTV shows.

Q: What is your favourite Body Swap film, other than this one of course?

JK: 17 Again is good. It has a 90s style trailer even though it came out in 2009. We actually released 1990s, 1980s, and 1970s style trailers for Body Swap in addition to the modern one. It just so happened that Wandavision was released with a similar concept where each episode was based off of a different era.

Q: How important was the balance between romance and comedy here, and how did you manage it?

JK: Well it’s not a sappy romance but you can’t free base comedy, it gets exhausting. Step Brothers and Napoleon Dynamite might be the only movies to pull that off. You have to dilute it with a genre like Ghostbusters or Black Dynamite does. The go-to genre to mix it with is romance. And I’m a big fan of how Billy Wilder does that so hopefully we pulled off something close.

Q: Why did you choose to structure the film as a body swap?

JK: There aren’t that many entries in the genre even though there were three in 2020 with Body Swap, Possessor, and Freaky. I thought the romantic comedy where the slob meets the career woman had been done quite a bit so maybe adding two worn genres would be original if they body swap as well. Just so happen, Freaky made a horror movie where the final girl and killer swap bodies so we have a bit of a twin movies situation. I’m not complaining because it’s free advertising.

Q: Do you have any funny on set stories?

JK: The scenes in the cafe were fun to shoot because we had a lot of extras and they bring their own dynamic and make it fun.

Q: Sequel ideas?

JK: One of the characters is watching a Christmas movie on TV in Body Swap so maybe a sequel where the Christmas movie is the whole thing, and they watch pieces of Body Swap 2 from the other side.

Q: What is your personal favourite moment from the film?

JK: I enjoy the ending; it ties the whole movie together. It took awhile to find a satisfying ending.

Q: If you won an award for this film who would you thank in your acceptance speech.

JK: That actually did happen! It won best feature awards at Louisville International Festival of Film and Peachtree International Film Festival. One is headed by an Academy member Conrad Bachmann and one is Academy Award-qualifying so that’s basically like winning an Oscar. Isn’t it? I like to thank Tim the director, my friends Worth, Brent, Sean, Laura, and Tracy who worked on it. Matt, Evan, Allie, and Ella and the rest of the cast and crew. I mean our lead actress filmed and cut together a “behind the scenes” video so everyone pitched in more than they had to, to get it done.

If you want to check out Body Swap it is on Amazon, the Google Play Store and Youtube, and as always I have a review of it up on the site now!

Body Swap: Switching Places For Love?

Written by Luke Barnes

Body Swap is a comedy romance film directed by Timothy Morton. The plot sees CJ (Ella Jordan), a powerful business woman and Casey (Jimmy Kustes), a slacker switch places- hijinks ensue.

Whilst this may not be the most original premise, there is still a lot of fun to be had here. Body swap films are quite rare these days, yes you have your Freaky’s and your Princess Switches’ as recent examples, but when you look at the genre as a whole there really haven’t been a lot recently. I for one am glad to see any film bring the concept back, it always makes for great fun.

Fun would be the word I would use to describe this film, as though it is not side splittingly funny it does provide a few laughs and more than enough smile inducing moments: from start to finish I had a smile on my face. I think both the comedy and romance elements work well, and nicely compliment the film.

Moreover, I thought both Jordan and Kustes played their respective roles with enough charm and awkward comedy that they sold it, with each making their character feel likeable.

However, my biggest compliment has to go to the writer as this film knew how to use the body swap premise to its fullest.

Overall, a fun film that is a blast to watch.

Pros.

Body swapping madness

Strong leads

Very easy to smile at

A wholesome romance elements

Cons.

We have seen this before

4/5

Luz: Romance Behind Walls

Written by Luke Barnes

Luz (directed by Jon Garcia), is a romantic drama film about the friendship and romance between two men, which blossoms within the walls of a prison.

This is a heart wrenching film for so many reasons. It is both beautiful and soul crushing.

I think in terms of representation this film is very needed, as LGBTQ+ love stories are often sorely over looked in the romantic drama genre, and yes to a degree that is being rectified in recent years, but there is still a noticeable gap, and films like this are filling that- and I for one think that is commendable. Hopefully, soon the romance genre will be more reflective of all kinds of relationships.

The love story was very powerful and effecting, I thought the writing was just right as it managed to walk that line between expertly playing with your emotions, but also never feeling overly sentimental.

The leads have a great deal of chemistry, and you do believe that they are genuinely in love, which adds to the emotional impact of the film. I thought both performances, commanded my attention and impressed me.

Overall, a fantastic and powerful romance film, with a real heart and soul.

Pros.

The chemistry

The representation

The emotional weight

The performances

Cons.

The side characters are a little underdeveloped

4.5/5

Enchanted: In The Real World Disney Princesses Are Surprisingly Boring

Written by Luke Barnes

Enchanted is a family fantasy film directed by Kevin Lima. The plot sees fairy-tale princess Giselle (Amy Adams), become trapped in our world, after suffering a deadly trick from the Evil Queen (Susan Sarandon).

Amy Adams really does prove her range here, we already know that she can do heavy dramatic fare well, but this proves she can also pull of family friendly comedy too; she really is a multi-talented performer.

Adams definitely is the acting highlight of this film, as the rest of the cast range from serviceable, Patrick Dempsey, to underused, James Marsden, to confusingly handled, Susan Sarandon. Adams and Dempsey have good chemistry and it is nice to see a wholesome romance, that doesn’t actually have any toxic elements, from a Disney film.

Marsden is underused, but it more than that- there is no need for his whole character. Marsden plays the Prince Charming character and quests after Giselle into our world, falsely believing she is his soul mate; though this film doesn’t call it soulmates, instead something weird and vaguely annoying. Anyway, his whole character serves no real purpose beside a slight threat to the central romance and even then not really. Everything around his character and those parts of the plot are weak.

Sarandon seems woefully miscast and takes the role way to over the top in terms of camp.

The premise itself, the idea of an animated princess coming into our world is in itself strong and ripe for exploring, and the film does use it for several good jokes and moments, though I would say the ultimate execution of ideas does leave something to be desired.

Overall, a strong idea and performance from Adams, sadly the rest of the cast drag the film down.

Pros.

Adams

The premise

Cons.

The cast are either underused or miscast

The villain is awful

It is repetitive

2/5

Spontaneous: Exploding Into Red Goo

Written by Luke Barnes

Spontaneous is a science fiction romantic black comedy film directed by Brian Duffield. The plot sees two teens (Katherine Langford & Charlie Plummer), fall in love as a mysterious virus is spreading between themselves and their peers that causes one to spontaneously explode.

Much like Love and Monsters this film has a huge heart. The emotional stakes for this film are damn near perfect, you become really quite invested in their relationship, and my my how you are played with thereafter.

Langford and Plummer have strong chemistry, and make for a believable on screen couple, also where other films fail to capture the snarky teen well, or make it incredibly cringe worthy, this film manages actually do it justice. I think the, lets call it teen dialogue, of this film was quite on point and made me laugh several times with its wit.

I am careful to say too much about the film for fear of spoiling it, but I will say this: be prepared for a ride on an emotional roller-coaster

Finally, I just want to spotlight the premise itself which is surprisingly hilarious in a dark macabre sort of way- it makes you laugh and then feel very bad for laughing

Overall, a wonderfully original film and a touching romance.

Pros.

The leads have good chemistry

It is funny

The premise is novel

Good emotional stakes that make you invest

Cons.

It really does an number on your emotions

4.5/5

Chocolat: Chocolate’s To Boost Your Sex Drive

Chocolat is a romantic comedy drama film directed by Lasse Hallstrom, based on the book of the same name by Joanne Harris. The plot sees chocolatier Vianne (Juliette Binoche), move to a small religious French town in the middle of Lent, as she begins to sell her devilish wares whilst most of the residents of the small town are fasting she quickly makes herself a number of enemies. Can a good heart and a lot of chocolates change the locals minds about her?

Finally! After all this time, after countless numbers of films that demonise them, finally I have found a film that has positive Traveller representation: honestly it is nice to finally find a film that treats this group of people as humans, as not as some sort of easy scape goat for whatever ills are going on at the time, however, it is also sad as it makes me think of few other films share this film’s progressive outlook.

I enjoyed this film for the wholesome good time that it is. There are some sad things that happen in it, but in the end everything works out and everyone has a nice party- and in the times we are currently living in sometimes that is all you need to stop the nihilism for finally settling in.

There are a number of strong actors giving great performances here. Firstly, you have Binoche who creates a character that is perhaps one of the most likeable characters in all of cinema, and who you immediately want to see succeed, but also one that clearly has a dark past and is somewhat empty. Secondly you have Doctor Octopus himself Alfred Molina, as the films villain who is equally as sublime as the lead. Molina plays the leader of the town who takes an immediate dislike to Vianne and who goes to war with her, the two have an interesting relationship and Molina adds a lot of layers and depth to the character. Finally, you have the always marvellous but often overlooked Peter Stormare, as the real villain of the film an angry drunk/ wife beater shopkeeper who also forms a dislike of Vianne after she has a negative impact on his life. Stormare brings us a character that is easy to hate, but who also has more to him than simple villainy: moreover, he also brings some of his trademark weirdness to the role and gives us a few scenes that are unintentionally hilarious.

Johnny Depp is also in this film, at the height of his heart stealing good looks and he is a perfectly fine romantic lead. Shame they didn’t cast an actual traveller in the role but ah well it is Hollywood after all.

Overall, a lovely heart-warming film.

Pros.

The wholesomeness

A nice happy ending

The romance

Positive Traveller representation

Cons.

A few slow moments

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things: My 1000th Post!

The Map Of Tiny Perfect Thing is a romantic comedy film directed by Ian Samuels. The plot sees two people stuck in a time loop together, though they don’t realise this until a little bit into the film, who decide to make a map of all the perfect things that happen in their loop in hopes of better understanding it.

I have said before the time loop concept is quickly becoming dried up and samey, however, this film narrowly avoids feeling repetitive, and instead manages to still feel real, genuine and dare I say it fresh.

The romance between Mark (Kyle Allen) and Margaret (Katheryn Newton), feels heart warming and rootable, there are no troublesome elements as there often are in romantic comedies, I am pleased to report. I thought of the two performances Newton vastly outperforms Allen, and it was her character and her journey that made the film.

For the time loop to end, Margaret needs to do something, as she has effectively caused the loop itself: when she finally takes action and crosses that line it really adds to the strengths of the film in a dramatic sense and helps to elevate it in my opinion.

My only issue with the film is that it can be a little too mushy and over sentimental at times and has a very teen feeling to it, which is not a knock against the film as no doubt they are the target audience, but it does put me off a little bit.

Overall, a nice couple watch that though not perfect is entertaining.

Pros.

Using the time loop concept in a way that didn’t feel played out

Newton

The central relationship

The ending

Cons.

Overly sentimental

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Eagle Vs Shark: Which Came First?

Eagle Vs Shark is a New Zealand set romantic comedy directed by Taika Waititi. The plot follows the romance of Lilly (Loren Horsley) and Jarrod (Jermaine Clement), with a subplot about Jarrod’s quest to track down his high school bully and beat him up.

As far as Waititi’s film goes this is oddly off beat and almost sad, the wackiness of something like What We Do In The Shadows is a million miles away from this film instead it shares more in common with the darker more upsetting moments in JoJo Rabbit or Hunt For The Wilderpeople. I left this film feeling depressed.

The central romance has quite a few troublesome elements, in that Jarrod treats Lily like trash for most of the film, even dumping her abruptly to run of with his dead brothers girlfriend: the apology for his bad behaviour at the end of the film does not make up for it, and really they shouldn’t be together. However, as far as toxic messages within romantic comedies go, this film is on the better side of the scale and isn’t as offensive.

There are odd stop motion sequences peppered in throughout the film that I am not quite sure how I feel about. On the one had they fit in with Waitit’s quirky sensibilities, however they also feel quite unsettling and troubling for reasons that I cant quite put my finger on, there is just something about them.

The one positive I can find for this film is that the humour worked for me and I found myself laughing quite a bit.

Overall, this film really didn’t jive with me at all which is surprising considering that for the most part Waititi and Clement can do no wrong.

Pros

It has a few laugh out loud funny moments

Cons.

It is a bit too melancholic

The animation is weirdly unsettling

You don’t want the characters to be together in the end

It leaves you bummed out.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar: Cutting Lose At Forty

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar is a comedy film directed by Josh Greenbaum. The plot sees recently unemployed middle-aged friends Star (Kristen Wiig) and Barb (Annie Mumolo), decide to visit Vista Del Mar on holiday, very much like the title suggests.

This is a very odd film, it is not quite romantic comedy, not quite a musical and not quite a comedy either- it is something else. Upon watching the first act, I was expecting to be writing a bad review, however, as the film went on it grew on me more and more.

I am mixed on this one, I did not think the film was funny at all, like nearly every time it is trying to be funny it fails, the only time it is funny successfully on purpose is during its songs (which are actually quite good and easily the highlight of the film), the few laughs to be had during this film were found there. Ultimately, it depends what you find funny, as I often say humour is subjective, if you have found yourself laughing and Kristen Wiig’s style of comedy before then you will laugh at this- as it is the same old same old.

The romance elements are likewise as odd as the rest of the film, seemingly trying to be as absurd as possible though I will say in this respect Jamie Dornan exceeds. Truly this might be the film that finally lets Doran move past his overly serious Mr Grey, and his failed leading man career and reminds audiences that he can still be fun. I enjoyed the romance between Dornan’s character and Wiig’s and I though it was easily one of the strong points of the film.

Overall, a very specific, very niche kind of film that will split audiences.

Pros.

It grows on you

Jamie Dornan

The songs

Cons.

It is not funny

It is very niche and very specific

It feels familiar

It would have worked better as a short film or a sketch

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Malcolm and Marie: Overly Indulgent In The Worst Way

Malcolm and Marie is a drama film directed Sam Levinson. The plot follows Malcom (John David Washington), and Marie (Zendaya), as there relationship is tested over the course of one particularly bad night.

I think there are good elements to this film, and I will get to them in time, but there are also a lot of issues, it is by no means perfect as it is deeply flawed in a number of ways. Firstly, it is very, very smug and up its own arse as an art film, and that is clear and is quite off-putting. Secondly, this film is made for people who know a fair bit about film in general, there are five to ten-minute scenes where Malcolm rants on and on about certain things to do with the industry and if you don’t have a keen amount of know how in that regard you will be lost.

The issue with these sort of films, and it is the same fate that befell, Pieces Of A Woman is that when films centre around these intimate struggles, the delivery has to be spot on and feel reflective of reality. Now I am not knocking either of the performances, as I thought they were the only good part of the film, however, neither of these characters behave in a natural way (going on long winded rants about the finer points of film criticism, while your partner stairs blankly at the celling), and it reads as overacted and also like a film writer’s fantasy version of reality. Nothing against the performances, everything against the highschool play esque script.

Zendaya and John David Washington make the most out of what they have and try and give it some personality and life- dying nobly on that hill. It is a shame as they are both talented.

Overall, nearly all the art house cliches rolled into one. Poor, but well-acted.

Pros.

Washington

Zendaya

Cons.

It is smug

It feels overacted and fake

It seems like the writer has never had a real human conversation before

It is not as deep as it thinks it is

1/5

Reviewed by Luke