Let's get the difficulties out of the way first: 'Non-transferable' is easily dated. It was released just a few short years after star Ashley Clements found great success as a modern vlogger variant of the 'Pride and prejudice' protagonist in 'The Lizzie Bennett Diaries,' and references here to Clements' character Amy vlogging feel like a bit of a contrivance. Other bits of dialogue speak to the "YouTuber" trend that had just exploded (blech), to the predominance of social media in framing social interactions and relationships at a time when many movies were jumping on that bandwagon (no thanks), Vine (throwback!), and other such mid-2010s peculiarities.
Moreover, the pace is blisteringly fast-paced; dialogue and scenes fly past with a swiftness that allows no shot or beat to manifest, breathe, and resolve of its own accord. As slick, stylish, smart, and snappy as the movie is in all regards, it's a little overbearing and strenuous in its construction, and too clever for its own good. And, with that said - even by the standards of the romantic comedy genre, the frequent and rapid shifts in tone for much of the length is a tad off-putting - happy and pleased one moment, dour and reflective the next, then acerbic and biting.
That's the bad news. Sure, there's a fair bit of it. If you can get past the outright forcefulness, though, and the undeniably ham-handed nature of it all - 'Non-transferable' is a romcom, yes, but it's a reasonably good one.
The frailties that present as inelegance in an otherwise dreamily graceful whimsy are unfortunate. And keep in mind the genre at hand - we get plenty of familiar tropes, a story that as a whole is unsurprising, and the expected dubious lack of authenticity. But the premise is a minor stroke of brilliance, and filmmaker and co-star Brendan Bradley demonstrates capable writing and direction in building his characters, scenes, and narrative. It's all shoved through the heavy-handed grinder of a romantic comedy, yet even so, Bradley's abilities shine through. I'm familiar with some of his other works on the web, and now that I've seen his first full-length feature - I'd like to see more.
For that matter, Clements and Bradley are great as chief characters Amy and Joshua. The two are hardly strangers to one another, and have collaborated on other projects across the Internet. Here, that same energy is poured into roles that for much of the length play off one another with a somewhat combative mentality. I've seen the range, nuance, and poise that Clements is capable of, and she exhibits it here as well. Bradley is marginally less prominent in the screenplay, but stands toe to toe with Clements while boasting a certain magnetic personality. The supporting cast is less noteworthy, but duly give life to their parts.
All aspects of the technical craft are quite fine, and I appreciate the contributions of wardrobe, hair, and makeup. What is perhaps most remarkable about 'Non-transferable' is the very fact of the production, centered around the root concept of travel: there is no major financial backing to speak of; the stars are recognizable to niche audiences, but hardly A-listers; there's no multi-million dollar production company that fronted the cash for filming on location in Turkey. This feature came into being purely from the passion and determination of those involved, successfully working with sponsors including airlines and hotels to help make the picture a reality. There's something marvelously ambitious and admirable about such an endeavor, and even if the final product is imperfect, Bradley is to be commended for taking such fantastic, daring initiative. It was a gamble - and faults aside, it's much more of a success than it's not.
Make no mistake, the movie has its problems. But I'm inclined to think that these come from a place of earnestness, and not lack of skill. The sometimes cringe-worthy camp that fills some scenes can be attributed to leaning wholly into the nature of the romantic comedy. The gracelessness of the pacing can surely be attributed to a tight budget, and filming schedule, that demanded as much content as possible be slammed through the shortest length possible. I'm not saying that this altogether absolves the feature of its flaws, but one has to keep perspective.
What it comes down to is that 'Non-transferable' is a romantic comedy, and that alone should pare down the audience - if it's not the type of film you can abide in the first place, then direct your browser elsewhere. Even for viewers who can appreciate such features, in a genre that commonly marks films' constituent parts with a measure of gawkiness, this isn't free of issues. But it nonetheless has a certain cheesy charm to it that's appealing, and the hard work that went into producing the movie adds significant value, too - we need to support independent filmmakers. Fan as I am of stars Bradley, and especially Clements, this isn't necessarily a picture to go out of your way to see. Still, if you have the opportunity - minding notable but mild shortcomings, 'Non-transferable' is a reasonably fun romcom, and not at all a bad way to spend 83 minutes.
Moreover, the pace is blisteringly fast-paced; dialogue and scenes fly past with a swiftness that allows no shot or beat to manifest, breathe, and resolve of its own accord. As slick, stylish, smart, and snappy as the movie is in all regards, it's a little overbearing and strenuous in its construction, and too clever for its own good. And, with that said - even by the standards of the romantic comedy genre, the frequent and rapid shifts in tone for much of the length is a tad off-putting - happy and pleased one moment, dour and reflective the next, then acerbic and biting.
That's the bad news. Sure, there's a fair bit of it. If you can get past the outright forcefulness, though, and the undeniably ham-handed nature of it all - 'Non-transferable' is a romcom, yes, but it's a reasonably good one.
The frailties that present as inelegance in an otherwise dreamily graceful whimsy are unfortunate. And keep in mind the genre at hand - we get plenty of familiar tropes, a story that as a whole is unsurprising, and the expected dubious lack of authenticity. But the premise is a minor stroke of brilliance, and filmmaker and co-star Brendan Bradley demonstrates capable writing and direction in building his characters, scenes, and narrative. It's all shoved through the heavy-handed grinder of a romantic comedy, yet even so, Bradley's abilities shine through. I'm familiar with some of his other works on the web, and now that I've seen his first full-length feature - I'd like to see more.
For that matter, Clements and Bradley are great as chief characters Amy and Joshua. The two are hardly strangers to one another, and have collaborated on other projects across the Internet. Here, that same energy is poured into roles that for much of the length play off one another with a somewhat combative mentality. I've seen the range, nuance, and poise that Clements is capable of, and she exhibits it here as well. Bradley is marginally less prominent in the screenplay, but stands toe to toe with Clements while boasting a certain magnetic personality. The supporting cast is less noteworthy, but duly give life to their parts.
All aspects of the technical craft are quite fine, and I appreciate the contributions of wardrobe, hair, and makeup. What is perhaps most remarkable about 'Non-transferable' is the very fact of the production, centered around the root concept of travel: there is no major financial backing to speak of; the stars are recognizable to niche audiences, but hardly A-listers; there's no multi-million dollar production company that fronted the cash for filming on location in Turkey. This feature came into being purely from the passion and determination of those involved, successfully working with sponsors including airlines and hotels to help make the picture a reality. There's something marvelously ambitious and admirable about such an endeavor, and even if the final product is imperfect, Bradley is to be commended for taking such fantastic, daring initiative. It was a gamble - and faults aside, it's much more of a success than it's not.
Make no mistake, the movie has its problems. But I'm inclined to think that these come from a place of earnestness, and not lack of skill. The sometimes cringe-worthy camp that fills some scenes can be attributed to leaning wholly into the nature of the romantic comedy. The gracelessness of the pacing can surely be attributed to a tight budget, and filming schedule, that demanded as much content as possible be slammed through the shortest length possible. I'm not saying that this altogether absolves the feature of its flaws, but one has to keep perspective.
What it comes down to is that 'Non-transferable' is a romantic comedy, and that alone should pare down the audience - if it's not the type of film you can abide in the first place, then direct your browser elsewhere. Even for viewers who can appreciate such features, in a genre that commonly marks films' constituent parts with a measure of gawkiness, this isn't free of issues. But it nonetheless has a certain cheesy charm to it that's appealing, and the hard work that went into producing the movie adds significant value, too - we need to support independent filmmakers. Fan as I am of stars Bradley, and especially Clements, this isn't necessarily a picture to go out of your way to see. Still, if you have the opportunity - minding notable but mild shortcomings, 'Non-transferable' is a reasonably fun romcom, and not at all a bad way to spend 83 minutes.