The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival: Finnish rugby, martial arts, cults and more

By Yuan-Kwan Chan

http://www.meniscuszine.com/film/tribeca-film-festival-10/roundup-20100425/

"Spork" (USA)
Adolescence is not being kind to Spork, a hermaphrodite from the trailer park who endures her worst jabs once she steps into her junior high school.  But throw in such colorful characters as Chunk (a heavyset Asian kid with the occasional kernel of wisdom), Betsy Byotch (who heads a miniature version of The Plastics a la "Mean Girls"), Tootsie Roll (Spork's African American neighbor with a fast moving dirty loud mouth and dance moves to match), and the war is on.  Given that the battle of pre-teen minds revolves around a dance contest, "Spork" curiously suffers in terms of pacing – unnecessary slo-mo sequences bog down the film in parts, for example – but never sags in spirit, as Spork and her newfound friends try to find ways to beat the system.  The sassy half-Korean, half-African American Sydney Park is especially noteworthy in her role as Tootsie Roll.
"Spork" screens Apr. 30 and May 1 at various venues.