It would be foolish to deny that there is a certain kind of “Sundance romance” film – minor affairs that chronicle the beautiful and directionless as they stumble through the motions in an attempt to find something real. Most of the time, these films take place somewhere in East Los Angeles (Echo Park, Silverlake, Los Feliz), and usually there’s someone in a band. There is always a bevy of navel-gazing that occurs. Meeting those criteria for this year’s festival is Michael Mohan‘s Save the Date. The film centers on a pair of sisters (Lizzy Caplan and Alison Brie) who have very different expectations of and desires for love. Caplan’s Sarah is a commitment-phobe who is about to move in with her long-term boyfriend (Geoffrey Arend as Kevin), while Brie’s Beth is about to marry Kevin’s best friend and bandmate, Andrew (Martin Starr). Cue conflicts.

We’ll get this out of the way right off the bat – Bachelorette is not Bridesmaids, though the film’s premise (three girls embark on a bachelorette party adventure for a bride they hate!) sounds like the perfect post-Bridesmaids feature for a ladies’ night out. In reality, Leslye Headland’s film is a production that’s perfectly crafted for people who hate their friends. Toxic, nasty, and ugly, Bachelorette reaffirms stereotypes about women (they are bitches! They are sluts! They are emotionally unstable!) and their relationships (they secretly all hate each other!) that should have disappeared from cinema (and the world) long ago. 

It’s the year of Lizzy Caplan. Such a bold proclamation is based entirely on the fact that the Party Down and Mean Girls star has two films world premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, an exciting feat for any actress, but doubly so for an up-and-coming comedic gem like Caplan whose two lady-centric films are bowing in a post-Bridesmaids world. Last year’s big it-girls, Elizabeth Olsen and Brit Marling, faced a somewhat similar situation – both came to the festival with two films to hype (Olsen had Martha Marcy May Marlene and Silent House, Marling turned up with Sound of My Voice and Another Earth). But even Olsen and Marling didn’t have the same challenge Caplan has to deal with this year when it comes to her work in Save the Date and Bachelorette - two films, two starring roles, two projects both about weddings. Madness! How the heck will we ever tell these two films apart? Well, with this handy comparison of every relevant bit of information (and even some not-so-relevant bits) on each film, we will. Consider them Lizzy Caplan Sundance Film Festival Flash Cards. Study up and get your best wedding outfit/snowsuit prepped (hint: use fur).

Welcome back to Commentary Commentary, your weekly dish of directorial insight and/or, as indicated by last week’s column, shenanigans. This week we’re looking inside the mystery box with director Matt Reeves and uncovering what he has to say about our favorite recent monster movie, Cloverfield. Reeves did this commentary all by his lonesome, but something tells me J.J. Abrams was standing over him with a loaded gun lest Reeves divulge too much information. I’ll be listening intently for any Morse Code warnings or cries for help. Since this commentary track was laid down years ago, and since Matt Reeves has since directed Let Me In – more Morse Code messages. Hmmm – I have a feeling everything turned out okay. So here, in all of its Slusho wonder, is what I learned on the Matt Reeves commentary for Cloverfield. I wonder if there are going to be any Lost secrets. I hope there are Lost secrets. Or Star Trek 2. Okay, wishful thinking is over. Shutting up now.

Seeing as it was on the Starz network and only lasted for two seasons, there are probably a lot of people out there who haven’t heard of the TV show Party Down. But seeing as it was one of the best shows on recent television, there are also a lot of people who hold it very dear to their hearts. That tends to happen when something is good, and kept away from the mainstream, and ended prematurely. Traditionally, a TV show reaching cult status has always been a good recipe for strong DVD sales, and then talks of a film adaptation. Shows like Arrested Development and even Party Down creator Rob Thomas’ Veronica Mars have gone through the same process. Also traditionally, despite the fact that the DVD sales raise a lot of studio eyebrows, the film version never comes to fruition. Could Party Down change all of that? Probably not, but they’re going to try.

There’s a new romantic comedy in the works, and the cast that it’s assembled so far is an awesome mix of people I love from Judd Apatow shows, people I love from Party Down, and girls that I have crushes on (with some Mad Men connections thrown in for good measure). Save the Date is based on characters from the graphic novels of Jeffrey Brown. Brown’s comic work is smaller, more autobiographical than the super hero stuff that typically gets adapted from the world of sequential art. This story is about two sisters, one who is relatively unconcerned about the future and is therefore dating a musician, and another who is obsessed with planning her upcoming wedding down to every detail. Michael Mohan will be co-writing with Brown and directing. But that’s not really the exciting part of this news for me. The exciting part is the cast.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr puts on a wizard’s robe, wears a colorful scarf and dances around in the woods with his magic wand yelling, “Stupify!” And that’s just to celebrate the release of Fair Game in his home town. He also takes a look at this little independent film that few people have even heard of, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Sadly, a bizarre mishap with his wizarding skills causes a boulder to fall on his hand and pin him for 93 minutes, which was actually quite fortunate because it gave him just enough time to watch 127 Hours.

When only 74,000 people watch your second season finale, you can’t exactly count on being renewed. Such is the case for the creators of Party Down, the latest in a long line of great comedy shows canceled before they were able to reach their prime. After two gloriously offbeat seasons, Starz has decided not to renew the Adam Scott and Ken Marino-led show. And while it disappoints me, as a fan of the show, to see it go, it’s clear that this was the inevitable endgame.

A guide with a new challenge everyday to drag you, willfully kicking and screaming, from the rut that you’re in. Sing a song, throw something you love away, write to the Pope. If you follow the book’s instructions, you’re promised 365 new experiences.

We don’t exactly cover short films at festivals. Someday, perhaps. But not now. However, there are a few longer-form short films playing at this year’s festival — Spike Jonze’s red hot Sundance short I’m Here and the very interesting short from Holden Abigail Osbore, Solitary. Joining these two films in this category — which is called Medium Cool: 3 (not so) Shorts (awesome name) — is Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Successful Alcoholics.

Yesterday the trades began reporting on a new production shingle that will bring average folks into the filmmaking process. Today we have an exclusive look at this shingle’s new movie. How ironic…

The relationship between Sam Merlotte and that damn dog is finally revealed. Elsewhere, Bill must answer to the vampire hierarchy over his bloody defense of Sookie, who finds herself in a place where trusting anyone is difficult.

Bill (Stephen Moyer) breaks a vampire taboo in protecting Sookie (Anna Paquin) – and must pay a steep price as a result.

True Blood kicks it up a notch again this week, turning out what may be the best episode of the season. Be sure to check in with Sookie and her vampire beau Bill and watch as Jason spins even further out of control in search for his fix of V-Juice.

So we are in New York City, and the date is 1-18-08. You know what that means right? Yes, Cloverfield comes out today…but more than that. It means that last night was Rob’s Surprise Going Away Party thrown by Myspace.

Once again, no monster is revealed. But we have just the opposite, courtesy of our friends at Paramount…