What an amusing surprise to see film critic and author Phil Hall as an inebriated park-bench philosopher in Uncorked! Is this the same person known for his scholarly books on independent film? Yes, and he’s now lighting up the screen in a “unique experiment in no-budget guerrilla-style filmmaking.”

Besides starring in Uncorked, Hall wrote the humorous script which involves one man sitting alone on a park bench who discovers the presence of a camera crew and offers them a drink from his liquor bottle, then proceeds to explain why he’s taken up drinking. But he doesn’t stop there. Before the 40-minute running time is up, we find out a lot about the man’s philosophy and lifestyle, including his outlandish tips for lessening stress (alcohol and smoking), his personal exercise program (walking to and from a bar each day), his family problems (especially with his “old lady”), his disapproval of products made in China, and his fantasies concerning becoming a gynecologist or a lounge pianist.

Our disheveled hero may be crude and out-of-touch with reality, but he’s always entertaining, and it took only a single take to capture his comical monologue. As portrayed by Hall -- who has also appeared in London Betty, Bikini Bloodbath Car Wash, My Mouth Lies Screaming and Abduction -- this intoxicated individual evokes memories of similar characters played by such showbiz greats as Jackie Gleason and W.C. Fields.    

Directed by EM Schrader (Burial Boys), Uncorked was shot in a New Haven park with a budget of ten dollars for a bottle of cognac, which serves as an important prop in the film. Here's a little gem of a film that proves money is no substitute for creativity.

(For more information about Uncorked, a Lightning Strikes Twice Production, go to http://uncorked.webs.com.)