Strawberry Mansion – Review

An astute vision of the future is presented in Strawberry Mansion. It is all too real despite its fantasy ideas and bonkers visuals on display. This well-done film hits many good notes, and offers plenty of fun, creative displays.

As James Preble (Audley) wakes up in a pink colored kitchen, the bright hue overpowers him. Finally, his savior Buddy (Phillips) walks in, bringing Cap'n Kelly’s Chicken and Red Rocket Soda, as well as a helping hand! They both savor the fried food and bubbly drink. Still, things feel a bit off somehow. Maybe it's the room's color, but either way the chicken helps.

Preble then wakes up in the real and less colorful world of the year 2035, immediately hitting up Cap’n Kelly’s drive thru for a plethora of food and a chicken shake. Hmmm, he was just feeling it, I guess, but that dream was weirdly targeting. Then it’s off to perform his job, so he putters off into the countryside to a small house with a reddish pinkish coloring.

James asks for Arabella Isadora (Fuller), or Bella, to talk about tax records for the property and perform an audit. She offers him an ice cream cone he must lick. Uhhh... does he go ahead and lick the Strawberry ice cream and gain entry to this strange woman’s home? Probably. But what happens next is fairly wild…

Strawberry Mansion uses a plot of dream and advertising cohesion to add massive creativity to its story of Preble and Bella's worlds. It is the future, but it seems like a place this real world could go. Shot with a soft focus or filter to add a bit of dreamlike quality to its visuals, there is fun dialogue mixed in with zany scenes.

The audit performed in the movie is also an unusual one, but almost everything is best discovered through this film's journey. The story eventually dives into emotions, memories, economics, relationships, society, behavior, life observations, death and more. The film may stray off course a bit into nightmare territory, but some of that also feels like the point, since doesn't life do that, too?

There probably was not ample budget for this film, yet it did not matter and whatever they had went a long way. It is a lot of fun to watch, and offers all sorts of reasons to watch it. Good music, a fun idea, satisfying acting, and a strong presentation somehow with a familiar feel all lead to an enjoyable time.