''Girl Walks into a Bar'' is a 2011 multiple story line

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * Ensemble (album), ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the ...

comedy film produced exclusively for Internet distribution. It is directed by Sebastián Gutiérrez from his own script, much like the anthology style of Gutiérrez's '' Women in Trouble'', and follows a group of apparent strangers in interlocking stories taking place in ten different bars during the course of one evening throughout

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. ''Girl Walks into a Bar'' premiered at The ArcLight Hollywood Cinemas on March 7, 2011, in

and screened as an official selection of the Spotlight Premieres section at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival 2011 in Austin. The film is currently available in the United States to watch for free exclusively on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

with sponsorship from

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...

Plot

An undercover ex-cop named Francine Driver (

Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001� ...

), who poses as an hitman, meets a dentist – Nick (

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series '' Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek'' (2009) ...

) – in a Los Angeles bar. Nick wants his wife Karen (

Lauren Lee Smith Lauren Lee Smith (born June 19, 1980) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles, including Emma DeLauro in the syndicated science fiction drama '' Mutant X'', Riley Adams in the CBS forensics drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investi ...

) dead. He does not have the upfront payment of $20,000, but he promises he can get it for her before the night is over. When he leaves, Francine meets a young man named Henry (

Aaron Tveit Aaron Kyle Tveit (; born October 21, 1983) is an American actor. Tveit originated the lead role of Christian the composer in the stage adaptation of ''Moulin Rouge!'' on Broadway, a performance for which he won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Acto ...

), a photographer who charms her before stealing her wallet and running off into the night. Her wallet contains the device used to record her conversation with Nick, and the evidence is incriminating. This begins Francine's frantic search through the bars and clubs of Los Angeles. As she journeys, a number of characters are introduced. There is Henry's sister, Teresa (

Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her performance on HBO's '' Entourage'' as Sloan McQuewick, Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'', Dalia in '' You Don't Mess with the Zohan'', Lorelei ...

), an exotic dancer. There is Teresa and Henry's father, Dodge (

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

), an ex-con who gives his son the most baffling of advice and has a strange fixation on bones. There is Nick's patient, Aldo (

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

), a gangster who can get Nick his money ... but only by roping him into participating in a heist. There is a bartender named Camilla (

Amber Valletta Amber Evangeline Valletta (born February 9, 1974) is an American model and actress. She began her career as a fashion model, landing her first of sixteen American ''Vogue'' covers at the age of eighteen. During the 1990s, Valletta reached the st ...

), who is having relationship problems with her divorced upstairs neighbor. There is June (

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include ''He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...

), a hatcheck girl for an exclusive nude ping pong club. There is Francine's superior, Sam Salazar (

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor and producer. He first came to attention in 1997 for his role as Michael Fitzgerald in the television crime drama series '' Cracker''. He made his feature film debut in 1998 in th ...

), who is always addressed as Officer but is actually a detective. Then there is Francine's ex-husband, Emmit (

Gil Bellows Gil Bellows (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in the 1994 movie '' The Shawshank Redemption'', Billy Thomas in the Fox television series '' Ally McBeal'' (1997� ...

), who has something Francine wants.

Cast

as Francine Driver *

as Teresa *

as Sam Salazar *

as Aldo *

as June *

as Nick *

as Dodge *

as Henry *

as Camilla *

as Emmit *

Kevin Zegers Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

as Billy *

Alexis Bledel Kimberly Alexis Bledel ( ; born September 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She is known for her role as Rory Gilmore on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), and Emily Malek in ''The Handmaid's Tale'' (2017–2021). ...

as Kim *

Michelle Ryan Michelle Claire Ryan (born 22 April 1984) is an English actress. She played Zoe Slater on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2000–2005). In 2007, she starred in the short-lived American television series ''Bionic Woman''. She appeared as th ...

as Loretta *

Xander Berkeley Alexander Harper Berkeley (born December 16, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor. Since beginning his career in the early 1980s, he has appeared in over 200 film and television projects. His film roles include '' Terminator 2: Judgment Da ...

as Moe *

as Karen

Production

''Girl Walks into a Bar'' is produced by Gutiérrez's Gato Negro Films and co-produced by

Steve Bing Stephen Leo Bing (March 31, 1965 – June 22, 2020) was an American businessman, philanthropist, film producer, and screenwriter. He was the founder of Shangri-La Entertainment, an organization with interests in property, construction, entertai ...

's and Zach Schwartz's Shangri-La Entertainment.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

took place in

in March 2010. The film was shot in eleven days with a

Canon 7D The Canon EOS 7D is an APS-C digital single-lens reflex camera made by Canon. It was announced on 1 September 2009 with a suggested retail price of US$1,699. Among its features are an 18.0 effective megapixel CMOS sensor, HD video recording, ...

high-definition camera. Inspired by a scene from Gutiérrez's Elektra Luxx, it is a kind of Robert Altman-esque ''

Short Cuts ''Short Cuts'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film, directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. The film has a Los Angeles setting, whic ...

''. Sebastián Gutiérrez claimed at the South by Southwest Film Festival premiere of '' Elektra Luxx'' that ''Girl Walks Into a Bar'' is the first major motion picture with a cast of notable stars created exclusively for Web distribution. Quoted in an official press release, Gutiérrez revealed "We want to prove that Web distribution is a viable medium for theatrical quality movies which rely on story, characters and dialogue as opposed to special effects. For many reasons the theatrical indie landscape has changed drastically in the last few years, leaving many potential breakout hits without an audience. We are excited to break the rules of feature films by letting people watch our movie for free online." Locomotive Distribution is handling worldwide sales.

Release

Shangri-La Entertainment entered into an agreement with

and

to present ''Girl Walks into a Bar'' free, exclusively in the YouTube Screening Room, a platform designed to showcase top films from around the world, premiering March 11, 2011, and viewable only by visitors from the United States. The presentation marks the first time a major motion picture was created exclusively for Web distribution. "With ''Girl Walks into a Bar'', the cast and crew came together to create something different – a high quality, really fun character-driven film that we could present to audiences for free using a new distribution model," said Gutierrez. "We found great partners in

and

to support the film while providing us with the stage to draw the largest audience possible." Although it was intended for worldwide distribution, the film has been blocked from the United Kingdom, Canada and the rest of the world on copyright grounds. ''Girl Walks into a Bar'' is currently only available in the United States to watch for free exclusively on

. In 2019 it was, however, noted that viewers in the UK could watch it on YouTube. ''Girl Walks into a Bar'' marks

' first entry into film presentation. ''Girl Walks into a Bar'' was released on DVD on 14 Aug 2012.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl Walks Into A Bar 2011 films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Sebastian Gutierrez Films set in California Films set in Los Angeles American independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films