Movie Review - Waking Up Dead (2022)

This is the second feature from writer, director and editor, Terracino. His debut feature was exactly a decade ago with the queer romantic comedy, Elliot Loves (2012). This film could certainly play as a companion piece, as Terracino again centers his story on a young, gay, Latino. Instead of the east coast, his protagonist lives on the west coast. Instead of focusing on the main character's personal life, this one spends an inordinate amount on his professional one. Instead of worrying about his romantic entanglements, this film is more pressed with the central figure's career. Ironically, both films still factor heavily on the lead person's relationship with his mother.

Terracino utilizes quick cuts, quick camera moves and visual gags accompanied with sound effects, such as record scratches in order to underline his jokes. These kinds of edits were used almost sparingly in Elliot Loves, but here, Terracino has seemed to turn such edits up a bit. In particular, the opening sequence is a veritable bombardment of frenetic editing to underline the jokes of the protagonist struggling to make it Hollywood but also being a sly and self-absorbed person, lying and cheating to get what he wants but yet still failing. Terracino walks a fine line of introducing his main character as someone to dislike but yet feel sympathy.

Gabriel Sousa (Westworld and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) stars as Danny Maldonado, a young man in his mid 30's who is Dominican-American. He's very handsome, very sexy and is an aspiring actor. He's clearly done small roles in major television shows but is trying to land either a role in a big-time film or be a regular in a TV series, which would afford him a better income. Unfortunately, at present, he's behind on his rent payments. What little money he does have, he gets from being an Uber or Lyft driver. He's essentially broke and homeless. He gets by thanks to the help of his circle of friends, but he's desperate to get something from his agent.

Like with Elliot Loves, this film follows Danny over the course of a week. Like with Elliot Loves, each day is demarcated with a title card. Like with Elliot Loves, various people who factor into Danny's life are also demarcated with their names on screen. As Danny waits for an upcoming audition or any job opportunity in Hollywood, we watch him have a series of conversations with these various people. These people include his agent, played by Traci Lords (Eastsiders and Steam Room Stories: The Movie!), a cold-hearted and haughty blonde.

Judy Geeson (Gilmore Girls and Mad About You) co-stars as Lila, a real estate agent who works for one of Danny's friends. Lila also used to be an actress back in the 60's and 70's. She meets Danny while he's house-sitting for his friend. She bonds with him over the fact that she used to be an actress who worked with a lot of big-time celebrities. She tells him Hollywood stories, which delights him. Yet, Lila also bonds with Danny over the fact that she had a strained if not estranged relationship with her son, as Danny has with his mother. Both bond over the fact that the estrangement was over the same issue, that of drug addiction.

What starts as a kind of spoof about a young, gay, Latino trying to make it in La La Land with all the micro-aggressions and indignities that might come with that morphs into a rather serious drama about mothers and sons torn apart by substance abuse, either on the side of the parent or the child. The tone is mostly frothy and light with a zippy pace that would almost be akin to a cartoon. It's reminiscent of George Bamber's The Mostly Unfabulous Life of Ethan Green (2006), which was itself an adaptation of a cartoon or rather a comic strip. The film bounces from literal toilet humor and penis jokes to what's a heartrending moment. There's also silly jabs at Hollywood personas, such as Shonda Rhimes.

The only hint of a dark turn comes at an early gag about suicide, which literally has the protagonist gagging. Such heaviness is immediately brushed off, which is at times indicative of Danny's almost manic nature, going from one mood swing to another. The film is very low-key with its depiction of Danny's addictive personality or addiction problem at all that by the end it feels as if it comes as a surprise but not totally unfounded. Terracino wants to land on a very cathartic feeling about a man hitting rock bottom, as a prefix to reconnecting with his mother. The way the film is structured though that reconnecting is more by proxy and not as sentimental as it could have been.

Not Rated but contains nudity, drug use and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 16 mins.

Available on DVD and VOD.