Is SF Ready for 'The FP', One of the Craziest Dance Movies Ever Made?

By: Jon Korn

"The FP" may be the best, weirdest, film about dance-fighting gangs you will see for a long time. Possibly ever.

Friday marks the San Francisco premiere of "The FP", at 7:15 p.m. at the Roxie, as part of SF Indiefest. The screening will be hosted by Vince Mancini of Filmdrunk and is followed by a Dance Dance Revolution Throwdown.

Imagine "The Warriors" meets "You Got Served" (but even crazier than that sounds) and you might begin to have an idea of what we're dealing with here. Check out the slightly NSFW trailer:

Embed:http://youtu.be/Zm3p0aNrOQA

"'The FP' first came to our attention as a submission to Fantastic Fest," Says Tim League.

League is founder of Drafthouse Films, part of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema empire, based out of Austin. In addition to distributing films, League and his partners run five theaters distinctive for their off-the-beaten path film fare, and for serving booze and meals inside the theater. Fantastic Fest is a festival featuring sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films that plays at multiple venues, but primarily at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin.

"The notes on the envelope that gets passed around by our screening committee members were really funny...mostly along disbelieving 'WTF' lines," said League. "It finally made into my hands and I absolutely adored it."

WTF, indeed. To the casual observer, the film raises many questions, like: Why is that man with a mohawk and gold teeth calling that other man "Clam Chowder"?

League has the answers.

"The team behind 'The FP' is the Trost Family. They all grew up in and around the film business. Their father Ron has been working in effects and pyrotechnics for over twenty years, and movie sets were their childhood playground. 'The FP' Stands for Frazier Park, where Ron Trost still lives and all the kids grew up," said League. "The strange dystopian alternate-reality setting of 'The FP', as well as the bizarre dialogue, is inspired by their actual adolescent schoolmates. I get the impression that Frazier Park is a very strange community."

SF film-lovers will want to note that the debut of "The FP" is not League's only foray into the city: SFist broke the news this week that the company may be looking to convert SF's own New Mission Theater to a five screen Alamo Drafthouse. League had no comment for now, but advised interested parties to keep an eye on the company's blog.

In the meantime, best polish those DDR skillz.