“COLOR WHEEL” SPINS NERDY SIBLINGS

“COLOR WHEEL” SPINS NERDY SIBLINGS

The new Cinema Nocturna series at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., is developing some strong legs. These quirky pix are way-off-beat, to be sure, but always in differently imaginative ways. Latest is “The Color Wheel,” directed and co-written by Alex Ross Perry. The co-writer is deadpan comedienne Carlen Altman.

Of course, Perry and Altman play the leads. Fans of “Napoleon Dynamite” and those mumblecore flicks will immediately connect with these two mid-20s sibling slackers in “The Color Wheel,” shot in digital black-and-white to look like a grainy 16 mm home movie.

This movie proudly flaunts its low-budget heart and stands tall as a model for any Tucson filmmakers who want to make a significant film but don’t have any money.

Perry and Altman have some genuine chops, but there are many awkward moments from the rest of the cast. Abrupt edits are standard. Continuity is a problem. Several longer sequences feel like filler.

But still…”The Color Wheel” gets under your skin. Maybe it is because Perry and Altman project their cynical characters with such conviction.

Colin (Perry) and his slightly younger sister JR (Altman) are such natural-born geeks they can make any awkward social situation even more awkward.

Their misadventures become hilarious because we are all so glad we aren’t them. They shuffle and stumble, fumble and fail, but then win our hearts because they are so determined not to let their lack of cool hold them back.

Plot-wise, JR in a different city calls out to Colin that she needs some help moving out because she just broke up with her boyfriend, a college professor who promised to get her a good job in TV journalism…one day. Colin’s reluctant girlfriend isn’t too sad to see him go, either.

Both characters are developed in short takes as the camera jumps back and forth between their stories. Once together they nag and squabble with each other, packing Colin’s car and heading back to his house together.

Along the way they stop in at a party held by some of their pals from high school. That doesn’t go quite as you might expect.

Curiously, the party actually bogs down the pace of what is essentially a fun road trip because of the one-on-one chemistry between Colin and JR.