Best Picture (RibbitRePublic)

Edmonton Fringe Festival

4 Stars

Now I understand Sharknado.  After all, sharks are cool, and tornadoes can be pretty amazing.  So why not combine them both and let the madness ensue?

And that is pretty much what happened with Best Picture.  The ‘power combination’ of Kurt Fitzpatrick, Tara Travis and Jon Paterson – all Fringe Festival regulars – brought on madness.  Completely enjoyable, action packed, highly-skilled madness.

The script is immensely clever, and all three actors are adept at impressions.  The necessary speed at which they whirl through the characters and the movies makes it a bit difficult to recognize how well they inhabit each movie character, but wow.  They’re GOOD.  Travis’ potpourri of Meryl Streep accents is a highlight, as is Paterson’s Forrest Gump and Fitzpatrick’s take on Driving Miss Daisy.

The audience was smiling throughout, and the woman beside me even had her program in hand, delightedly checking off each movie that was mentioned.

Sharknado was perhaps not the best idea.  But Best Picture – it’s a stroke of Fringe genius.  And these three performers together on a stage are a force of nature.