CIFF: "Egghead & Twinkie"
Egghead & Twinkie is a tumultuous friendship movie by way of a road trip flick. For years, Egghead (Louis Tomeo) and Twinkie (Sabrina Jieafa) have been inseparable. Their houses are across the street from each other and they spend almost every waking moment together. It’s the end of their last summer vacation together, and there are cracks developing in their once strong friendship. Egghead is weeks away from starting at Stanford, while Twinkie plans to remain in their hometown. Twinkie talks Egghead into taking one last crazy adventure together: a road trip to Dallas so Twinkie can meet the girl she’s been talking to online for six months.
Egghead & Twinkie has the essence of a frenetically edited Edgar Wright movie, but with more heart than Wright has ever been able to achieve. It’s more akin to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World than some of Wright’s later work, but the inspiration is clearly there. This is perhaps not surprising, given that Scott Pilgrim began as a graphic novel (and is now becoming an anime) and Egghead and Twinkie first bonded over Naruto. The activity in the world of Egghead & Twinkie is often punctuated with small, hand-drawn flares. Little “dings” for the sound of a text, exaggerated eyes when in shock, and fire coming out of ears. Sometimes, the whole movie shifts into an animated sequence. It creates the impression of sweet, lovesick doodles in the margins of a notebook. Which makes perfect sense. Egghead & Twinkie is so heartsick and filled to bursting with the sort of beautiful, youthful energy of a first crush.
CanBeDone Films & Orange Cat Films
The movie began as a short film, and this longer version is a breezy good time. At no point does it feel like writer/director Sarah Kambe Holland’s first feature. It’s impressively executed on a microbudget and the performances by the two leads are endearing. Egghead & Twinkie is a spiritual sister to Alice Wu’s The Half of It. Both films are centered more on a friendly relationship than a romantic one, and it’s a delightful shift. Both have a nerdy lesbian and a dorky straight guy as the leads. There’s clearly love coming from both Wu and Holland toward the people in their lives who have supported them through tough times.
We need more movies like Egghead & Twinkie, the kind of sweet comedy that someone can throw on when they’re sick or sad or lonely. Only this time there’s a more diverse story at the forefront and there’s a happy ending for a queer character, which doesn’t usually happen. Egghead & Twinkie is the kind of movie I wish everyone could’ve grown up with. It’s a tiny bit of a coming out story, but more importantly, it’s a love story about finding yourself. Egghead & Twinkie is the eccentric, joyful, coming-of-age flick that’s reminiscent of the greats.
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