When the person responsible for writing and directing a movie openly admits he isn’t a filmmaker and had no idea what he was doing when making his film, it usually isn’t a good sign. But in the case of local filmmaker Mickey Reece and his second film, “Bury the Gold, Eli,” it didn’t wind-up mattering in the slightest, even if it was obviously true.
Audiences may be familiar with Reece from his one-man band El Paso Hot Button.
“Bury the Gold, Eli” can’t really be called a good film, but it’s certainly entertaining. It’s poorly shot, poorly acted and the story is as thin and cliché as possible, but it never ceases to be enjoyable.
The film begins with a short trailer for the fake film “The Michael J. Fox Story,” in which Reece and company humorously and mildly offensively show what it would be like if Michael J. Fox tried to make “Back to the Future 4” while dealing with Parkinson’s.
“Bury the Gold, Eli” is a western that tells the story of a man, Eli, seeking to avenge his father’s death by killing his father’s murderer, the infamous Jesse James, and find his father’s buried treasure. Along the way Eli befriends a talkative Mexican who adds a lot of humor to the film.
Most of the film looks to have been shot in pastures and farms outside of Oklahoma City, but some viewers may recognize the film’s saloon as local concert venue The Conservatory.
The film ends on a cliffhanger and sets up Reece’s next film, “Get That Mexican.”
Both “Bury the Gold, Eli” and Reece’s first film, “Le Corndog Du Desespoir,” can be seen as part of the Vacant Era Film Festival from Oct. 2 through 5 at the Sooner Theater in Norman
