Lollilove is an hour long indie comedy that was written and directed by Jenna Fischer, who went on to fame as the beloved Pam from The Office. It stars Fischer and her ex-husband, writer/director James Gunn. If it weren't for Fischer's current success, this movie would probably be hard to find. It is available for rental and online viewing via Netflix.

This movie is shot in mockumentary style and concerns a young married couple who decide to start a charity that passes out lollipops to homeless people. The catch is that the lollipop wrapper is supposed to be some kind of inspirational art piece. The whole point of this mock documentary is to poke fun of celebrities who get all wrapped up in charitable causes just for the sake of doing so, when they really just want the free publicity surrounding it.

This is a Troma movie and made without much budget at all. Most of the scenes were either filmed in their own home or in public parks. Fischer even worked in part of their real wedding video into the movie. The overall cheap look of the movie, however, fits quite well into the documentary style of filmmaking, so it works on some levels.

Fans of The Office will see a different kind of Jenna Fischer in this movie. She still has that all-American sweetness that makes her such a great screen presence, but she's not quite so likable as her TV show character. Throughout a good bit of the movie, she argues with her on-screen and then real-life husband, played by James Gunn, about his art and their project. The two have been mum on why they split up a year or so ago, but after seeing this movie you kind of have to wonder if life imitated art in their case.

Since it only runs an hour long, this movie is quite tolerable. If it were much longer, I probably couldn't have gotten through it. All the best parts were with Fischer, because her husband plays an artist type who is completely full of himself, plus he has numerous personality quarks that make him annoying as all hell. I get that he was playing up the pampered, detached Hollywood type, but I didn't find him all that entertaining. To Gunn's credit, I love his work behind the camera. He wrote the two Scooby Doo movies, the Dawn of the Dead remake, and Slither.

In the end, I thought Lollilove was cute and offered a few laughs. It is somewhat offensive in the way it exploits homeless people, because some of the ‘extras' looked too much like the real deal for a movie this low budget to afford make-up that good.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie