Doh! Homers love SXSW

For many indie films, fests like South By Southwest function as cast and crew screenings. Moms and Dads fill the seats. Cousins and extras and gaffers laugh at anything and everything. But the crowd at the Dobie to see Love and Mary Sunday night might set a new record for homerism. First a second screen had to be opened to handle the masses who made the trek from Houston for the love story about a girl caught between two very different twin brothers (but played by the same actor, natch). Then they applauded the credits with genuine enthusiasm. Finally, they dominated the Q&A like GOP plants at a Bush rally. "Was this based on your family members?" a family member asked. "Had you worked on this script long?" a cousin quizzed. (Five years was the answer from writer/directer Elizabeth Harrison.) "Do you expect to win an Academy Award?" intoned, well, nobody.

One obvious complaint about the amiable flick would be the high quirkiness quotient, but there in the third row is Pappy, the model for the film's Pappy. Over there the brother who battled allergies with a special plastic bag suit. Well, the guy in the audience at least opted for cotton. But there's something special about watching a film girded by hometown supporters clad in rose-colored glasses. For a moment you're living the dream. Fof a moment anything is possible.