Me and Will

I stumbled across this film on the Sundance Channel one night and got hooked right away. It's a simply told, yet amazingly powerful and affecting story about two women who find a common bond, form a friendship and take to the open road on their motorcycles for a journey on which both will confront a few of their personal demons, leading to a poignant yet somewhat uplifting conclusion.

I'm surprised that this movie never made it to theatres. Sherrie Rose and Melissa Behr were already actresses when they got together to write, direct, and star in this film and I look forward to seeing them get back behind the camera again; they are definitely film-makers to watch out for! I hope this movie gets released on video and DVD so that others can discover this simple yet powerful story. ***stars

The film ME AND WILL is terrific...certainly all the characters are moving and interestingly true to life. All the actors were terrific and totally believable in their rolls. The young actor who played the the part of FREAK was someone I would like to see more often.

This is a terrible, terrible film. From a completely objective viewpoint (i.e not slagging it off just because it didn't have any guns, fights, gunfights, robots from the future, helicopter gunships, etc in it) the film has one main problem: The plot. It meanders all over the place and at points it seems like bits have been stuck in at random, without making any kind of sense. It does this in a completely non-arty, out of character and overall annoying way. The only saviour of this film is some of the acting which can be pretty good at times. Ok, write-off the two blondes (Will and.. and.. the other one) and many of the other characters but Will's neurotic Mum is great and the random trucker giving them directions is hilarious. Incidentally this is the highlight of the film. Right, back to the rest of the film: The constant sepia shots of the girls on their bikes were INCREDIBLY cheesy and not even in a good kind of way, because only ONE shot is used, this becomes very very annoying. Overall, the lines spouted by the actors are hackneyed and generally garbage without advancing the plot any. Most of the acting itself is either extremely wooden or completely over the top (eg the violent police officer).... I could go on and on. But I won't because I need lunch. General view: If you watch this film, expect to be bored and irritated. Sorry.

This was a great movie about a woman who finally comes to terms with who she is at the age of thirty. It chronicles the journey of two women who meet in a clinic after drug related incidents. It was touching to see a film about a strong friendship between two women who appear to be tough on the outside but are actually very emotionally fragile.

Even though the characters are very specifically blond, female, motorcycle-riding drug users there is something in them that speaks of the easily-bruised emotions in all of us. The glimpses behind the scenes of how a person might turn to a destructive life-style were also very revealing.

In the end, it takes the death of the younger woman, Jane, to make Will realize that she is actually luckier than some and that she does have the strength to survive, and to open up her heart to the genuine emotions she has found in a man who loves her. Despite the tragedy of losing a friend she has grown so close to, the end is uplifting both for Will and the audience. Though she has reached the end of their journey physically alone, the spirit and memory of Jane will always be with her, reminding her of how much she has to live for.

It's amazing the way Hollywood squanders talent. Sherrie Rose and Melissa Behr have spent most of their careers doing exploitation and cheap TV shows. On their own they put out a movie like this. This is a very touching movie, a road picture with obvious debts to "Easy Rider" but also a lot to say about individual freedom and the choices made in life. This kind of movie was very prevalent in the 70's but is a lost art these days. And who paid attention to it? If not for an article in Femmes Fatales Magazine, I never would have heard of it. It's sad the treasure that goes unnoticed out there.