SIFF review: The Most Fun I've Ever Had with My Pants On

Drew Denny’s first feature, The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had with My Pants On, is one of the more gorgeously-shot films you’ll see at SIFF this year. It is about a road trip with Denny playing the main character Andy and a childhood friend named Liv (played by Sarah Hagan), who travel from LA to Austin while sprinkling Andy’s late father’s ashes across the Southwest, per his dying wishes.

Denny writes, directs and stars in the film (and she’s the music supervisor). It’s well-acted and touching, especially with the relationship between Liv and Andy, who are on screen most of the film together. The moves somewhat slowly but that pacing allows the characters to develop and reveal themselves to one another.

What I found touching, beyond the main characters friendship, was how both Andy and Liv deal with their relationships with their parents, whose presence is always implied or off-screen (except, of course, Andy’s father’s, whose ashes are almost always present). It’s a sweet film, with a great soundtrack (Nite Jewel and Julia Holter, amongst others, provide songs) and ultimately heartwarming, if a bit sad, too.

At the end of the film, I felt so wrapped up in the characters’ lives that I wished Andy and Liv’s road trip wouldn’t have just stopped in Austin. There’s plenty more of America to see, and plenty more stories they can tell each other.

{The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had with My Pants On makes its world premiere at SIFF on Wednesday, June 6 at SIFF Cinema Uptown at 7pm and also screens on Friday, June 8 at the Harvard Exit at 3:30pm.}