On Demand Weekly

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: 3 BACKYARDS (Screen Media).

3 BACKYARDS - On Demand
By Amy Slotnick

Two-time winner of Sundance’s directing award, Eric Mendelsohn follows up his first feature film JUDY BERLIN, with the poetic drama, 3 BACKYARDS.

3 BACKYARDS follows three interwoven stories, all set during one autumn day in a quaint Long Island town. A businessman, a housewife and a child are the main characters all of whom appear at first as very familiar archetypes.

Observing them as they go on brief but emotional journeys, we witness each find something unexpected. Their stories are connected by the theme that unseen, and sometimes secret, happenings can be found in one’s metaphoric backyard.

JIG - On Demand

By Jean Tait

Ever since SPELLBOUND turned out to be a sleeper hit, documentary filmmakers have tried to replicate its success with stories of nerdy, but precociously talented kids in competition. JIG takes us into the world of Irish Dancing, that strange style of dance that blossomed as “Riverdance,” “Lord of the Dance” and the other Michael Flatley-inspired shows took over the world. Along with spreading the Celtic music and dance craze, these shows included tap dance and flamenco as well, so you could see how they influenced and inspired each other.

Sue Bourne, Director./ JIG (Screen Media)

As cheesy as these shows got, they certainly showcased some amazing dancers. I love dance. I love watching dancers do incredible things with apparent ease. However, I just don’t get Irish Dancing. I don’t understand the point of the stiff, expressionless upper body. I realize that as a style grows in popularity, certain traits get emphasized. It’s just like pure-bred dogs. And just as too much in-breeding leads to unhealthy traits like smooshed sinuses, too much in-breeding in a dance style can also become a strangely stylized attribute (probably just as unhealthy!).

And then there are the wigs, looking like Marie Antoinette met Dolly Parton and Shirley Temple on a humid day. At least some of the parents in JIG agree with me about the wigs. It must be terrifying to have your child become obsessed with something as strange as this. The parents in JIG, lord bless ‘em, are totally committed to supporting their children no matter how little they understand of the art form. My favorite part of the film is watching the parents and teachers watching the kids dance, almost dancing along, the way one pushes one’s foot down on an invisible brake when in a car with someone driving too fast!