Lollilove
2004



Director: Jenna Fischer

Producer: Stephen Blackehart

Writer(s): Jenna Fischer, Peter Alton

Plot: LolliLove is a mockumentary co-written by, directed by and starring Jenna Fischer. The film is about a hip, misguided Southern California couple who decide to make a difference in the lives of the homeless by giving them lollipops with a cheery slogan on the wrapper.

The film also stars James Gunn (Fischer's husband) and Peter Alton, who were also co-writers, though about half of the film's dialogue was improvised by the cast. Fischer talked about the creative process behind the film in an interview with a St. Louis-based arts and entertainment magazine:

I started by writing a plot outline. I invited my friends over to the house and I filmed us acting out the scenes. At that point, all of the dialogue was improvised. I gave very general character notes and people just ran with it. I used the tapes to write the script. I expanded the characters and streamlined the dialogue. I found some things that worked and some that didn’t. We all met about six months later to shoot the film. We had a full script at that time. I still encouraged improvisation and some of our best stuff is improvised. But I made sure we did scene as scripted at least once. That way, I knew I had the right material for editing.

The film is in the style of This Is Spinal Tap or Waiting for Guffman with a transgressive core. It mixes fact and fiction: Gunn and Fischer's characters are named "James and Jenna Gunn", the film was shot in their actual home, it incorporates scenes from their wedding footage, and the cast hands out lollipops to homeless people during the climax of the film.

Principal photography cost $1,500 and was completed in twelve days. The film premiered at the St. Louis International Film Festival in November 2004 (the hometown of Fischer and Gunn), and has played in numerous other film festivals. It was released on DVD by Troma Entertainment on March 7, 2006.

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