Never Met Picasso

The story of young artist andrew magnus, and how he fits into this world. Still living at home, he has received numerous rejections from schools. He's hitting a rough patch. In the various arts, andrew, his uncle alfred, and even his own mother have many things in common. Lots of shots of the leaves changing... fall in new england. We follow andrew, his family, and his friends around for about a week. Not a whole lot happens, but they are all interesting enough to entertain us for one hundred minutes. If you're in the right mood for it. Written and directed by stephen kijak. Oddly, arquette, kidder, and epstein all died within a couple years of each other. In spite of the fact that they were all years apart, age-wise.

It played at a art house in Brookline MA for about a week or two. I only saw it because I had seen Georgia Ragsdale (a very funny lesbian comedian) twice in Provincetown and I had a casual acquaintance with Eddie Rutkowski. The plot was kind of vague and there was really no resolution but it DID catch the art scene in Boston perfectly back in 1996. It was full of local characters and was shot on location. For a very low budget feature it was well-done and Arquette and Kidder were excellent in small roles. I don't think this ever got a wide release but it might be available on DVD. If you have an interest in Boston back in the 1990s or are a gay man you might like this one.

Never Met Picasso, written & directed by Stephen Kijak is a light comedy/avante garde type independent movie that deliver's a story about dysfunctional friend's and family centred around the art's/theatre community. Andy(Alexis Arquette) is a 30yr old painter without direction and languishing his time away at numerous parties and hanging-out with best-pal Lucy(Georgia Ragsdale)a neurotic sculptor. Entering a competition to win a trip to Africa for much needed inspiration. Other characters are Actress/mother Genna Magnus(Margot Kidder) performing in a dreadful stage-play The Naked Tenor(Hilarious, because it's sooo awful)and Uncle Alfred(Alvin Epstein) whom share's a little closet family secret with Andy's mother Genna. Other weird and wonderful characters round out the relationship's romantic or otherwise such as Lucy's girlfriend Ingrid whom channels the spirits of female surrealist's and the mercurial art/historian scholar Jerry(Don McKellar) whom pursue's Andy. In my opinon this is an entertaining well made film, however it isn't strong on plot or real depth. Performances are all excellent by cast and so too the work done by Mr.Kijak. It's a comedy and an interesting one at that but not of interest to a mass-public but for open-minded viewer's a worthy choice for general viewing. I own the video and have still enjoyed it after a few repeated viewing's. Recommended!

NEVER MET PICASSO owes its name to its main character(brought to life well by Alexis Arquette), a struggling Boston painter. However, its essential plot seems to be the description of a dysfunctional family of sexually-confused artists. How original! Composed of the young gay painter(Arquette), his unbalanced mother (Margot Kidder: art imitating life?) who, among other quirks, discovers her lesbian side in her late 40's), this family also features the gay uncle, the distant father and a menagerie of "in-laws" and friends. These encompass artsy and psychic lesbians, dead lovers, black screaming queen artists, and even an S&M queen who is a history professor by day. If this collage of 90's stereotypes interest you more than an original, coherent plot, then NEVER MET PICASSO is definitely for you.

I happened to stumble upon this oddly perfect little flick at a film festival in Boston. While it's essentially a gay film, I believe that, as a straight guy, I was as entertained by it as anyone else. It's laugh-out-loud funny at times and quite tender and sad at others. Alexis Arquette's performance is truly outstanding as is the Uncle's. And Kijak's directing is flawless. It's one of those films that you still find yourself talking about months later. Run out and rent it.