North Beach

Running time: N/A

Normally, a day in the life of Tyler--a slacker whose lifestyle and image call for hanging out in the same bars with the same friends every day in the North Beach section of San Francisco--would be pretty uneventful. And Tyler likes it that way. But this day is different - Tyler has just spent the night with a 19-year-old stripper from New Orleans, and as he stumbles out of a youth hostel at 7 a.m., it becomes quite apparent that everyone knows, including his girlfriend, Paige. But how did the news get to the numerous surrounding restaurants, cafes, and apartments so rapidly? "It's North Beach, Baby!" Tyler spends the day trying to talk to Paige to plead for forgiveness. He desperately needs to sleep and bathe but continues on his daily routine of starting the day by "drinking three cups of coffee, reading the paper and drinking two more coffees." Tyler admits that he is a creature of habit, although he acknowledges that "there's always a chance something will pull you out - you're never really safe." And now, smoking like a fiend, singing with his band, hanging with his oddball pals, and roaming the photogenic streets of San Francisco, he just has to find a way to convince Paige that he is worthy. Directors Jed Mortenson and Richard Speight, Jr., using a deft comic style, appeal to the slacker in all of us as we actively follow Tyler, a "big fan on inactivity," on his search for meaning in his life. Reviewed by Sandy Wolf