Easier with Practice

In a desperate attempt to promote his yet unpublished novel, Davy Mitchell (a remarkably sensitive and honest performance from Brian Geraghty) hits the road on a self-planned book tour with his younger, looser brother Sean (the sly and funny Kel O’Neill). The brothers’ inherent disparity makes them discordant road buddies and after lukewarm audience receptions to his writing, Davy is left feeling lonely and without purpose. That is until one night in Albuquerque, when Davy is alone in another generic motel room and has a far from generic experience! He receives a phone call from the seductive Nicole who asks, "What are you wearing?" After assuming it’s all a joke planned by Sean, the inexperienced Davy eventually goes along with her and when his own tentative (and funny) attempts at turning her on elicit excitement, he finds himself surprisingly aroused. Davy and Nicole begin to develop an intimate relationship over the phone which Davy must keep hidden from Sean. The raunchy phone sex leads to late night conversations and the “couple” open up to each other like neither has been able to before. Davy is happier than he has ever been. Hoping there can be more to the relationship than virtual sex and a phone bill, he decides he wants to connect with Nicole in person. Ultimately, Davy will have to face not only the truth about their relationship but also about himself.

Easier with Practice explores the nature of forgiveness and the ever-evolving way people communicate with each other, and fall in love, in the modern world. Then 25 year old writer/director Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s deft handling of such complex subject matter as masturbation and the pressures men feel from intimate relationships makes Alvarez a bold new talent to watch.

EASIER WITH PRACTICE is an Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best First Feature and the director a nominee for the Someone to Watch Award.

“True story: A guy all alone in a motel room answers the bedside phone. There’s a woman on the other end. She sounds young and hot and, before he knows it, the guy’s having phone sex with her. But that’s not the end of the story. The woman starts calling the guy’s cell phone every day, and soon he’s having an intense romance with a woman he’s never met. In real life, all this happened to writer Davy Rothbart, who later went on to create Found magazine. In this marvelous fictionalized version by first-time writer-director Kyle Patrick Alvarez, the man in the motel is Davy Mitchell (Brian Geraghty), a timid 28-year-old writer traveling the Southwest with his brother (Kel O’Neill) on a sweetly pathetic “book tour” in which Davy appears at secondhand bookstores to read from his self-published story collection. “You’re the closest thing to a girlfriend I’ve ever had,” Davy eventually tells the woman on the phone (her name is Nicole). It wouldn’t be fair to give away much more, but the weird turns Davy’s life takes always feel emotionally honest, thanks in no small measure to Geraghty’s achingly true performance. From the virtuoso 10-minute shot that encompasses the initial phone call, to a long traveling shot of Davy all but running from a humiliating sexual encounter, Alvarez trusts Geraghty’s fear-and-wonder-filled eyes to tell the tale. This guy, he’s gonna break your heart.” (Chuck Wilson, L.A. Weekly)