Review: 'Off-Loop' Review by Bill Stamets The Chicago Sun-Times May 15, 2009 suntimes.com There are films about shooting films, and plays about staging plays, so why not make a film about a making a play? "Off-Loop" is a locally made indie about a post-college pals trying to make their mark on Chicago's theater scene. Director, production designer and casting director J. Spencer Greene, a veteran of the Famous Door Theatre, offers a sophomoric satire of the pretensions and aspirations of young theater types. Nick Izzo's script focuses on a playwright, his former girlfriend, and a college pal planning a play about their lives. The shooting, lighting, and editing are uniformly uninspired. Another local filmmaker, Joe Swanberg, has made far better no-budget indies about similar themes. He observes post-college romance among his creative peers with humor and thought, unlike the team behind "Off-Loop." No MPAA rating. Running time: 89 minutes. Screening at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Portage Theater. << Go Back to Press