Last Day at Sundance

Time for that letdown-day-after-Christmas feeling, as I have finished my final Sundance day and I’m writing from the airport on my way home. (Here’s a link to today’s Observer story; there’ll be one more tomorrow, and then a story in the Arts section Sunday).

I caught two films Tuesday morning. The first was “How She Move,” a dance movie along the lines of “Step Up” and “Save the Last Dance,” only it’s about step dancing. The step sequences are great, and the story that strings them together is a little bit better than most of those found in movies like this: a high school girl needs to win a step competition to get cash to go to college, so she joins an all-male step team. If you like this sort of movie, watch for this one.

Afterward I saw “Low and Behold,” set in New Orleans post-Katrina. It interweaves stories of real-life survivors with a fictional story of the travails of an insurance claims adjuster – I found it moving.

I had to squeeze in a few interviews Tuesday afternoon, and I used the rest of the time to just wander Main Street and check out some of the spots I hadn’t had a chance to see much. I was sitting in a lounge at one point when a woman used the typical Sundance conversation starter: “Seen any good movies?” When I replied with “Resurrecting the Champ,” she was thrilled because she was a musician who’d done two songs for its soundtrack. Another highlight was wandering into a music café where Julia Sweeney, formerly “It’s Pat” on Saturday Night Live, was telling amusing stories.

Then I headed out to a party to see a performance by Tyler Hilton of “One Tree Hill” (he also played Elvis in “Walk the Line”). It was the strangest Sundance party I’ve ever been to. The PR firm throwing it had booked a ski lodge so it was like walking into someone’s house. They offered me homemade soup off the stove. There was a spa set up in one of the bedrooms downstairs handing out free products and giving facials and hand and foot massages. When Hilton showed, he gave me a nice long interview and then I had a chance to catch a few of his songs before taking off to check out a second party.

That one was a disappointment because Bradley Whitford of “Studio 60” and “West Wing” and Jane Kaczmarek of “Malcolm in the Middle” were supposed to be there, but didn’t show. At least it gave me one more chance to walk Main Street before heading home to catch two hours of sleep before this morning’s flight.