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★★★★
Written and Directed by Lex Lybrand Starring Rob Gagnon, Lisa Friedrich, Katie Pengra, Pat Dean, Chadwick Smith, David Laurence, Carlos O’Leary Indie Film Review by Rachel Pullen
The Trolls is not a movie about annoying gremlins with insane hair but that of a start up tech company who lose out on making big bucks with a brand new battery charging gadget when a group of patent trolls sue them using outdated laws and loopholes in the system.
Not to be defeated, this Scooby Doo style of techies decided to play the trolls at their own game, by in the simplest of terms ‘’trolling the trolls’’, getting their money back and more in the process.
The Trolls is the third full length indie film by director and writer Lex Lybrand, all of which have been crowd funded and met to positive film reviews and The trolls is certainly heading down the same path.
Using local comedians and talent as the main cast, this quirky comedy brings quick quips, smart one liners as well as that campy vibe which as I said earlier is reminiscent of Scooby Doo and Co.
Each character in this film brings a different perspective on the pressures and relationship that comes with making big money fast as well as loosing it fast.
Gum [my personal favourite] played by Pat Dean, is the main developer within this movie, and even though he clocks up very little screen time in comparison to the other leads, his role is pivotal, as he is the quiet genius, seeing all the evil from the outside, that of the patent trolls, the corrupt legal system and the effect that making money has on his friends.Having Gum as a moral compass within the film highlights the corruption that is apparent but not always obvious to the public.
We are forced to learn the legal problems that come with fighting patent trolls in this day and age and Lybrand does not dumb down the courtroom action for the audience.
Lybrand says the idea for the film was to create something that not only highlighted the issues with patent trolling, but could be used in later years as documentation of the absurd way in which the situation was managed and the corruption that small business faced from the trolls and the court rooms.
While some may find the abundance of legal terms within the script a touch confusing at times it is confidently mixed with well timed comedy to keep those of us who don’t study business law from drifting away.
Despite what is quite a serious and unknown topic to the general public, The Trolls is an enjoyable watch, I myself knew little of patent trolling before watching this indie film, but found it easy to follow the story line, engage with the subject and most importantly learn more about this problem that is being allowed to continue within the legal system.
The Trolls has certainly worked on highlighting this issue with myself, so Lybrand I say to you...message received.
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