Comedy “Lovey-Dovey” to be on at Minsk cinemas from March 6
Aleksey Strishenov’s comedy “Lovey-Dovey” will be on at Minsk cinemas starting from March 6. Gosha Kutsenko will appear in the role of a blonde while Christina Orbakaite will play the part of Gosha Kutsenko, etc. It will happen because they exchange bodies. All this will be done so that they could understand each other’s feelings and preserve their love. Many “stars” are in the movie, they appear even in episodes. Well… not only episodes, even when photos from police are shown you can see the Yeltsins or the Clintons there…
There is one more person that could attract the attention of Belarusians. His name is connected with Belarusian dramatic art. It’s the script writer Andrey Kureichyk. He is speaking about his scenario and the way it changed.
Andrey Kureichyk: “The scenario I wrote wasn’t so glamorous. It was not connected with fabulously wealthy people driving only BMW’s 7 Series, drinking incredibly expensive vodka and living in pent houses at Chistyye Prudy, etc. His (producer’s) main function was making the scenario to be most glamorous and diverse”.
The script writer tells us how they chose actors for the leading roles.
Andrey Kureichyk: “Gosha was chosen immediately. We needed a nimble mind, a person who would not fear to deviate from his usual line. We told him that we would nominate him for the best female role and that he didn’t need to worry - he would get his awards.
But there was a fight for the female part. Surprisingly, when Orbakaite started her film test we saw there was some similarity between her and Kutsenko. Firstly, they have something in common in their appearance. Secondly, it turned out they liked each other and could understand and imitate each other”.
It is getting harder and harder to guess whether Kureichyk is a Belarusian author or not because he is working in Moscow and writes in Russian. But while he is still “ours” and the film “Lovey-Dovey” is also a bit “ours” we can say he is Belarusian.
The end of the 1980s was the last time a Belarusian author’s film had such a wide distribution. It was “White Dew” according to Dudarau. We remember “White Dew” and recall it today so what is to become of “Lovey-Dovey” as far as film critics say? A film critic Anton Sіdarenka is speaking about it.
Anton Sіdarenka: “It’s a typical producer’s project when neither the director nor the script writer can decide what kind of film it will be. It’s like a B-movie. I think Minsk dwellers will not notice the film.
Probably it will be watched by many people because cinemas attract a lot of people on holidays. I also think it will collect a nice amount of money as it will be shown in five Minsk cinemas”.
It is hard to find any artistic values in a movie that did not aim at anything like that from the very start. Kureichyk says it is a commercial project and describes its budget, hidden advertising and producers’ PR moves. “The film will be shown by ONT in a month. Holidays will help a lot and if everything goes well we will shoot “Lovey-Dovey-2” in autumn.
The first thing most viewers do when watching this film is comparing it to Hollywood movies. But there is an obvious difference when you think about the film’s contents. A film critic Alyaksey Strelnіkau continues.
Alyaksey Strelnіkau: “Even this kind of movie can be made in an intelligent way. We often blame Hollywood but even the most stupid Hollywood comedy reveals some social phenomena.
The democracy of American film industry is in the fact that with the help of movies you can feel how simple Americans live. Russian film industry has not reached such a level yet. Those who have money can speak to the audience with the help of films there”.
Arguments about commercial movies continue but such movies are generously repaid. People buy tickets and watch them which means they are in demand.
There is one more person that could attract the attention of Belarusians. His name is connected with Belarusian dramatic art. It’s the script writer Andrey Kureichyk. He is speaking about his scenario and the way it changed.
Andrey Kureichyk: “The scenario I wrote wasn’t so glamorous. It was not connected with fabulously wealthy people driving only BMW’s 7 Series, drinking incredibly expensive vodka and living in pent houses at Chistyye Prudy, etc. His (producer’s) main function was making the scenario to be most glamorous and diverse”.
The script writer tells us how they chose actors for the leading roles.
Andrey Kureichyk: “Gosha was chosen immediately. We needed a nimble mind, a person who would not fear to deviate from his usual line. We told him that we would nominate him for the best female role and that he didn’t need to worry - he would get his awards.
But there was a fight for the female part. Surprisingly, when Orbakaite started her film test we saw there was some similarity between her and Kutsenko. Firstly, they have something in common in their appearance. Secondly, it turned out they liked each other and could understand and imitate each other”.
It is getting harder and harder to guess whether Kureichyk is a Belarusian author or not because he is working in Moscow and writes in Russian. But while he is still “ours” and the film “Lovey-Dovey” is also a bit “ours” we can say he is Belarusian.
The end of the 1980s was the last time a Belarusian author’s film had such a wide distribution. It was “White Dew” according to Dudarau. We remember “White Dew” and recall it today so what is to become of “Lovey-Dovey” as far as film critics say? A film critic Anton Sіdarenka is speaking about it.
Anton Sіdarenka: “It’s a typical producer’s project when neither the director nor the script writer can decide what kind of film it will be. It’s like a B-movie. I think Minsk dwellers will not notice the film.
Probably it will be watched by many people because cinemas attract a lot of people on holidays. I also think it will collect a nice amount of money as it will be shown in five Minsk cinemas”.
It is hard to find any artistic values in a movie that did not aim at anything like that from the very start. Kureichyk says it is a commercial project and describes its budget, hidden advertising and producers’ PR moves. “The film will be shown by ONT in a month. Holidays will help a lot and if everything goes well we will shoot “Lovey-Dovey-2” in autumn.
The first thing most viewers do when watching this film is comparing it to Hollywood movies. But there is an obvious difference when you think about the film’s contents. A film critic Alyaksey Strelnіkau continues.
Alyaksey Strelnіkau: “Even this kind of movie can be made in an intelligent way. We often blame Hollywood but even the most stupid Hollywood comedy reveals some social phenomena.
The democracy of American film industry is in the fact that with the help of movies you can feel how simple Americans live. Russian film industry has not reached such a level yet. Those who have money can speak to the audience with the help of films there”.
Arguments about commercial movies continue but such movies are generously repaid. People buy tickets and watch them which means they are in demand.
