Written and directed by Alex Alford and Zak Denley
Starring Trevor Douglas and Alexandria Bryant
Runtime: 19 Min.
Available on Youtube by All American High School Film Festival and Gallon Films

by Miguel Alejandro Marquez, Staff Writer

I have called Frisco, Texas my home since 2005. It’s a quaint little part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to Suburbia is the only real production to ever occur in Frisco, Texas. Yes, we have a couple of screen credits, such as a few early 00’s comedies and dramas (She Gets What She Wants and Striking Range) filmed near or around the area, but most of what’s been filmed here has been pickup shots for productions. That’s about it. We haven’t truly have had a feature production shot here, even though we look like an ideal Texas town.

The producers of the show Dallas saw the Texas quality of Frisco, and had the Dallas Mansion constructed on the Southfork ranch. This is the place known for being where Dallas’s opening credits were filmed. We still have the carcass of the Dallas mansion, which was burnt down back in ‘87. Only four episodes were filmed in Frisco. The rest of Dallas was filmed in a studio lot in Culver City, hundreds upon hundreds of miles away from Frisco. Hitchhiker’s Guide to Suburbia is really the biggest production we’ve had since then, and a production that actually stars the town.

The project was funded through Seed and Spark, an internet crowdfunding website, and gained a budget of two thousand dollars. The film went on to be screened at numerous film festivals across Texas and across America. The film was even a nominee at the 2018 All American Hight School Film Festival by IFC Films, where it was screened at Times Square in New York.

I knew Zak Denley, the co-director/co-writer, since elementary school and it was a surprise to see someone who I grew alongside with, have the same interest in filmmaking as me. During the time that I started to develop my love for filmmaking, he made Hitchhiker’s Guide to Suburbia with his friend Alex Alford. To be quite frank, I was a bit jealous when this came out. I was a kid who didn’t have friends that wanted to make movies. I was making three-minute shorts by myself in my bedroom, and here was Alex Alford and Zak making a short film that looks like a true short film, not sub-par garbage. They got funding. They got real cameras. I was an asshole with a camcorder, trying to make a story with what I had in my room (That would turn into my “true” first short film Royal, about a satanic typewriter). I looked like small fry.

What’s the story to the film I was envious of? The film follows a young man, Trevor (played by Trevor Douglas of American Idol/internet fame), who doesn’t go the typical route of getting him and his date Alex (Alexandria Bryant, a model who has appeared in various advertisements shown throughout the country) a limousine. He instead opts for a journey of reaching prom by hitchhiking. The two encounter oddballs around town, such as a scientologist with a devotion to Tom Cruise, a man who has deep-seeded sexual issues, and a shady figure that Trevor seems to see as a threat. This isn’t the only threat to Trevor’s world. Trevor eventually realizes that he’s hitchhiking his way into the friendzone, and needs to change course.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to Suburbia is a film that is unique and very impressive due to the ages of its creators, but is still flawed. The jokes felt a bit forced. Most them being hit or miss. Yes, the film is quirky, and has that millennial/Gen Z humor aspect to it, but there were many jokes that this critic didn’t seem as funny. They were enjoyable, but nothing truly humorous.

The real problem that the film has, besides the humor portion of the film, is the fact that it has a deus ex machina. Randomly, for no real reason, Bryant’s character forgives the protagonist for everything that he has done to her. She pities him in the car after seeing how much he put into the journey, but nothing really makes her change her opinion on him. The film wraps itself up because it’s done with the story. Yes, the low point had them reflect on their actions, but the character of Trevor never really changes. He doesn’t realize anything in the low point. He stays static. He never goes through a true character arch.

Yes, this may be a nitpick, especially for a student film, but the film became less enjoyable with this knowledge in my head. Overall, this film isn’t bad, it just needed better structuring. The film features a variety of great moments, especially within the antics of its insecure main character, and the dream sequences that he has. The dream sequences being a nice retreat from the main story. It also includes a well-placed Tom Cruise joke.

The cinematography, and the story (besides the ending), were quite nice. It’s a very original story, that really tries to nail a distinct feeling that’s rarely expressed in coming-of-age films. Coming-of-age movies rarely capture the feeling of constant doubt or insecurity, or embarrassment. Being more involved with the growing-up portion of people’s lives.

Hitchhiker’s guide to Suburbia isn’t a masterpiece, but still an impressive piece of filmmaking, especially due to the age of its creators. It has a bubblegum pop sensibility to it, from its characters, to its diverse portrayal of the city that I love.

Watch Hitchhiker’s Guide to Suburbia if you enjoy a good Tom Cruise joke, or if you love jokes about being a wallflower, or if you want to see a look at a city that doesn’t get enough love or appreciation.

It’s also important to point out that the film features a variety of locations that are easy to notice if you are a Frisco native, from neighborhoods, to gas stations, and other locations that the residents pass by on a day-to-day basis.

Hopefully, in the near future, I will be able to do a review of a film from Escondido, my home away from home. A place that literally translates as “hidden”. The place that I’ve been honing my skills as a director and growing as a person.