Anne Thompson at the fantastic blog “Thompson on Hollywood” breaks this story:
In a surprise last minute move, Sundance programmers have announced the addition of three world premieres to the January indie fest. Gurinder Chadha’s It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, starring Sally Hawkins, Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids are Alright, starring Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as gay parents, and Galt Niederhoffer’s wedding film The Romantics, starring Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, and Josh Duhamel, will screen out of competition at the Utah fest, which opens January 21 and runs through January 31.
I had a hunch, so I tracked down the IMDB summaries of each movie. Here they are:
It’s a Wonderful Afterlife: A comedy centered on an Indian mother who takes her obsession with marriage into the world of serial murder.
The Kids Are All Right: Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life.
The Romantics: Seven close friends reunite for the wedding of two of their friends. Problems arise because the bride and the maid of honor have had a long rivalry over the groom.
Three comedies. Hm. You think this decision had anything to do with the fact that their initial slate, which we featured here, is pretty depressing stuff? Perhaps a bit of levity to lure people other than the Wrist-Slitter’s Association.
I really don't know who decided to equate morbidity with quality.
Any topic can be looked at with an "optimistic eye." The key is to not remind people of things they already know in relation to story.
I cite Precious as the perfect example. Don't need that much sorrow in my day.
You need someone like a young John Waters to show up at Sundance with something like Pink Flamingos… that'll shake those corporate-fearing yahoos right outta' their Birkenstocks.