Sitting through 1999 is a lot like being plopped down into a New Year’s Eve party in a neighboring town. You don’t know any of the guests…although a few do look quite familiar, several of the more drunken revelers are the peak of all things obnoxious and most of the people you meet are pretty damn obnoxious. But that’s not to say there’s no fun to be had at all.Produced in 1998 by Nick Davis, a young filmmaker who was obviously somewhat obsessed with the upcoming millennium change, 1999 is a somewhat aimless and basically plotless affair but one that holds a handful of entertaining surprises and laughs along the way. Simply put: 1999 is about a New Year’s Eve party; the last one of the 20th century.Although we’re introduced to at least a dozen quirky characters, the main plot that threads its way through the fitful dissolution of the long-time romance between Rufus and Annabell. The lovers split up just before heading out to the big shindig and they spend the rest of the evening sharing sidelong glances and pregnant pauses. Since this is apparently a pretty popular party, there are of course several colorful, bizarre and just plain inebriated people to meet, including our neurotic host Andrew, his sheepish Dad, the vampish Nicole and the arcane Goatman.Aficionados of the ‘indie flick’ will have a good time picking out the familiar faces in this one. As the lovestruck Rufus, Dan Futterman (The Birdcage) is charming enough, while his estranged girlfriend is played with steely charm by Jennifer Garner (television’s Alias). Indie-queen Amanda Peet (The Whole Nine Yards) pops in for a few sexy moments and whacked-out comedian extraordinaire Steven Wright (The Muse) steals a few scenes with his decidedly contorted views of the world in general. Buck Henry (First Family) is great in a few scenes as Andrew’s doting father. (Davis is to be commended on such an eclectic cast for a movie this teeny-tiny.)Though 1999 (the movie AND the year) is destined to become one outdated old chestnut, fans of energetic indie flicks should have a good time here. The deepest this movie gets is when it trots out the old ‘millennium trivia’ we all spouted back then. (Yes, technically our new millennium began on January 1st, 2001 and NOT 1/1/2000 but try telling the partiers that!) Several characters seem quite angst-ridden due to the impending change but don’t expect to get anything deep out of 1999. Much like the raucous party it depicts, this movie is pretty fun while it lasts but you’ll be hard-pressed to remember anything about it once it’s over. ( This review is published under license from Apollo Communications Ltd. and may not be reproduced without the express permission of Apollo Communications.) Nudity Report: If you’re like me, you think Amanda Peet is mega-sexy and she does have a few moments of skimpiness here – alas, no bare goodies.IMDB Summary: 57 IMDb users rate this one at 5.0/10.DVD Info: Widescreen format, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, deleted scenes, trailers, full-length audio commentary with writer/director Nick Davis.Written by: Scott Weinberg
