Looks like Santa left a Steadicam mount under the Duplass Bros. tree! What better way to celebrate than by bankrolling this tale of crossdressing hooker Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) on a Christmas Eve manhunt through the nether portion of W. Hollywood searching for the one pimp she thought would remain faithful. Shot exclusively on cellphones, I’ll be damned if director and co-writer Sean Baker’s (Starlet) audacious, expressionist use of color and smooth, aggressive camera movements don’t put the technology to the test. A middle-class Armenian taxi driver (deadpan surety from Baker regular, Karren Karagulian) with a proclivity for chicks-with-dicks nudges this even further in the direction of screwball comedy. Not for all sensibilities – one of the film’s rare displays of human tenderness takes place in a toilet – but for those who trowel the unlikeliest of hellholes in search of beauty, prepare to be blinded. On a pleasant note, expect long lines at drive-thru car washes once this opens. (2015) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.