This other movie was called “Go West Happy Cow.” It is mockumentary, which is a term for a fake documentary. Most of those involved in this film were graduates of the University of Wisconsin and the premise is that two guys were asked to travel across the country trying to get bars along the way to stock a beer called Happy Cow. One guy decided to do his part dressed from head to toe in a tacky cow costume that had both udders and horns for some reason.

The guys loaded kegs of the beer into a huge trailer of questionable roadworthiness that they attached to a pickup truck. They also tossed in a wide variety of cheeses. (After all, they are from Wisconsin.)

The journey took them from a University of Wisconsin football tailgate party to bars in Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, with sales successes at the start and finish but hilarious disasters everywhere else along the way.

There really was no reference in the movie as to what the refrigeration was in the trailer but as they wheeled out kegs into the various bars to demo their product, the beer did seem to be cold and got favorable reviews from those trying the brew. Likewise, the cheeses seemed to hold up.

As I mentioned in my comments regarding “Inuk,” the movies at the Beloit film festival are not those that will show up in multiscreen mainstream movie theatres, but it is good that there are ways to see them outside the multiplexes.

As I noted, my wife and I picked four among the hundred or so being shown over four days and only had the briefest descriptions upon which to base choices. While it wasn’t a goal to end up with two of four that could fit into a couple of refrigeration columns in FROSTlines, those things happen I guess.

Publication date: 04/23/2012