Movie review by Greg Carlson

Challenging the viewer to discover points of engagement with its two ferociously solipsistic protagonists, “Fort Tilden” is a wickedly funny satire sustained by the comic writing of co-directors Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers and the deadpan performances of Bridie Elliott and Clare McNulty as codependent BFFs/roommates as clueless about humanity as they are passive-aggressive about their relationship. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at its South by Southwest world premiere, the movie observes the aimlessness and awfulness of its privileged millennials as they navigate a series of obstacles that can only be described as first-world problems.

For all of its inside jokes and Williamsburg-specific, hipster cred (including a Reggie Watts as Reggie Watts cameo) “Fort Tilden” relies on the sturdy, universal, and instantly recognizable naïveté associated with twenty-somethings struggling to accept grown-up lives and the grown-up decisions that come with maturity. Elliott’s Harper, a self-styled artist in regular phone contact with her distracted, check-writing father, and McNulty’s Allie, uncertain about her imminent Peace Corps service in Liberia, operate exclusively in the moment. That moment, such as it is, revolves around a decision to rendezvous at the title location with two guys they meet at a rooftop party that opens the film.

Bliss and Rogers set up one hilarious conundrum after another as Harper and Allie slowly make their way to the Rockaways. The pals purchase a shabby chic barrel (perfect for the collection of umbrellas they don’t yet own) but can’t muster the energy to wrestle it up the stairs to their apartment. A minor bicycle accident involving a baby stroller and alarmist parents turns into a farce of false remorse. The women stand paralyzed and incredulous as a thief steals their property. A litter of kittens is deemed worthy of rescue until the act requires patience and effort.

Elliott and McNulty are terrific at conveying the fragile insecurity and withering snark of their characters, but Bliss and Rogers show a flair for teasing terrific comic performances from their supporting cast members as well. Peter Vack steals his big scene as Harper’s bisexual boyfriend. Desiree Nash and Becky Yamamoto earn plenty of laughs as smug Teach for America acquaintances of Allie being used for their access to a car. Best of all is veteran Upright Citizens Brigade improviser and onetime SNL writer Neil Casey as neighbor Ebb, who makes the very regrettable decision to loan his bike to Allie.

Even Bliss and Rogers appear in a quick scene as a couple offering directions to Harper and Allie, and their inability to share any helpful information earns the derisive contempt of our heroines (nice touch that the filmmakers are listed in the end credits as Fucking Idiot 1 and Fucking Idiot 2). The directors refuse to take anything too seriously, but they also show enough affection for Harper and Allie that the viewer can comfortably laugh with the young women as much as at them. A look past the movie’s onslaught of absurd interactions reveals that Harper and Allie need and depend on each other just as much as they deserve what they get.