Digging for Fire

Do you ever find yourself getting really drunk with your buddies on the weekends and wind up having these epic rap battles? And if so, have you ever popped off such a fresh freestyle that you actually go home and write down the lyrics thinking that you’re well on your way to making a breakout mixtape? Or what about going off to the desert and doing so much peyote that you come up with what you believe is the greatest idea for a movie script ever. No? Neither have I.

Well for those who have, you will connect with the movie Digging for Fire as it feels like as The New Girl’s Jake Johnson and director Joe Swanberg got together one night and came up with this humorous and touching tale about self-discovery. This lovely film tells the story of Tim (Johnson) and Lee’s (Rosemarie Dewitt) weekend trip up to what seems like the mountains of California.

They are housesitting for one of Lee’s yoga clients and both of them view this mini vacation as a chance to kind of rekindle the fire in their relationship. Ever since they had a kid (who they absolutely adore by the way) it seems as if they have lost a sense of purpose and direction in their lives. It also feels as if they are no longer on the way to meeting their individual goals and are wondering if marriage is really a realistic option for anyone in today’s society.

Well one morning Tim, while randomly digging around in the backyard, finds a gun and what appears to be a human bone. He believes that there may be a dead body on the grounds and the thought of this obviously freaks Lee out. So she decides to get away for a night as Lee is determined to find out what’s going. As they go their separate ways, they both get into situations that not only tests their loyalty to one another but also their general views of our purpose in the world.

It seems like pretty heavy material and at times it is. But in reality all this movie is, is two adults who are hanging out with their friends who all seem to be adjusting to adulthood in their own weird and uncomfortable ways. They pretty much cover every possible experience you will run into these days; from the party guy (Sam Rockwell) who isn’t even close to settling down to the uptight, do everything by the book guy who is so all in in regards to adulthood that he’s completely out of touch and even counts Weight Watchers points at party. So from that perspective, you can’t help but find something that you can connect to.

This movie has all of Hollywood’s underrated stars in it and feels like a movie that was only made so that they could all hang out. As a movie nerd I enjoyed it because I was able to see some of my favorites on screen all at the same time, but if you’re not a diehard indie fan you’ll probably walk away really confused as to why or how this movie got made.

Rockwell was his usual enjoyable self and Dewitt will forever be the MILF of the indie circuit. So from that standpoint alone, this movie gets a rating of FRESH!