"Living In Missouri":  "Missouri" in this case should be pronounced "Misery," for that's the theme of this superbly acted, angst-riddled black comedy that screens on April 13.

        Filmed mostly in the Jefferson City area, this glum love triangle centers on three Gen-Xers who live proverbial lives of quiet desperation.  

        Ryan (Connor Ratliff) is a selfish, movie-obsessed husband and father who refuses to grow up; Todd (Ian McConnel) is his old college bud who still lives with his parents and works in a video store.  Together they argue endlessly over minute points of pop culture.  

        Which really peeves Ryan's wife, Amy (Christina Puzzo), who sees her marriage going down the tubes.  When she looks to the nerdy Todd for a little support, he decides he's in love with her.  

        KC-based actor Holmes Osborne has a delicious supporting role as Ryan's reprobate uncle, a sly creep who only feeds his nephew's worst impulses.

        Shaun Peterson directs in a low-keyed style somewhere between wry amusement and genuine sadness, which makes the few moments of high drama (Puzzo has a killer crying scene) that much more devastating.

        "Living In Missouri" was an official selection at last year's Austin Film Festival and won the Best Feature award at the Seattle Underground Film Festival.  It's low-to-no-budget moviemaking at its best.