Over the next week and a half, Vulture will be reporting live from Park City, Utah, as the 2011 Sundance Film Festival gets under way, and we’ll bring you the latest in interviews, reviews, and event coverage, and tweeting all the while. Sundance is by far the most important film festival in America, and the films that premiere there often become among the most important releases of the year, from recent standouts like Precious and Little Miss Sunshine to 2010 entries Winter’s Bone and The Kids Are All Right, both of which are expected to be Oscar contenders. Which ten movies could be breakouts this year, and which are we most excited to see? Here’s our most wanted (and fortunately, there’s even more where that came from).
Some have grumbled that the lineup this year isn’t very starry — though the star wattage was always more of an unfortunate byproduct of the festival’s success rather than the point — but then there’s the comedy My Idiot Brother, which boasts Paul Rudd as the titular slacker and a great lineup of actresses playing his sisters: Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer, and Zooey Deschanel (the latter of whom is having a fling with Rashida Jones). One caveat: Rudd’s last film with director Jesse Peretz, The Chateau, was a tiny, barely seen underperformer.
Sundance is always good for a politically controversial doc or two, and this year’s hot pick is Reagan from director Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight). Described as “neither a hatchet job nor a hagiography,” Jarecki will investigate the contradictions behind the man who became the venerated guiding light of the modern conservative moment.
James Franco managed to survive Spider-Man 3 without any lasting injuries (even if his character didn’t), but Tobey Maguire is just starting to get his momentum back. After his well-received turn in 2009’s Brothers, his new dark comedy — where he and Elizabeth Banks find their marriage tested by infidelity and backyard raccoons (!) — could help reestablish the infrequently working actor.
As Chastity Bono began the gender transition to Chaz, there were rumors that Bono and his mom, Cher, were shopping a reality show about the experience. Though that never transpired, this documentary from Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) should provide insight into the high-profile transgender advocate, who has remained fairly tight-lipped about his transition (and, we’ve heard, won’t be making the journey to Park City to promote the film, which has already been bought by Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network).
Let’s face it, Sundance programs its fair share of bummers, which is why why you can expect the feel-good Being Elmo to be a hot ticket and potential mainstream breakout. Constance Marks’s documentary follows puppeteer Kevin Clash, the man behind Sesame Street’s most beloved Muppet, Elmo. (Sorry, Big Bird.)
