Favorite Son

I'm from Baton Rouge and saw this film a few years ago. I remember being so proud that local guys made it and did such a good job. Its not perfect, but it looks really professional and the acting is totally believable. I think the budget was like $500,000, but it looks like a regular movie made in Hollywood. Its better than most of them too. I you get a chance to see it, you should.

When I find a film that I want to write comments about … I sometimes read the IMDb reviews that have already been written and sometimes I don't. This time, since the film was not know to me at all, I did. I was intrigued by the polar opposite remarks. How could this be? However, when it's a film that people either love or hate… I usually love it, so I looked forward to seeing it. Sure enough, once I started watching it, I was TOTALLY sucked in to these people and their plight. This is a good little film! Sure, it has some challenges, but hey, it's an Indie! After seeing the film, I am not surprised by some of the remarks here on IMDb. This is definitely a thinking person's film. In fact, I was thinking about the film days after I saw it and I have to say… that DOES NOT happen very often, even with Studio films. Though this is certainly one for the "Indie" fan… probably not so much for the mainstream "Big Budget" fan.

An interesting story, one that sort of follows the Prodigal Son parable from the Bible, but it is not a religious film at all. The look of the film is wonderful… Louisiana in full bloom. The sound track by Wendell Tilley is terrific! I don' think I ever heard any of the songs or of Tilley, so they were most likely all original. I liked the fact that the writer, Steven D. Esteb, (who also directed) makes you pay attention to what is going on. You must, or you could miss something… and I think from some of the other comments on IMDb, many have. The actors for the most part are quite good.

Brad Hunt who plays Lance Beauchamp is really good though I would have rather seen the director rein him in a bit (a little too "cerebral" , for me). More like his performance in "Dream With the Fishes" (a great little film he did with David Arquett). … but he is good, no doubt. Louis Herthum, who played Lucas Beauchamp (an actor from the TV show "Murder, She Wrote"… he looked familiar but I was never a fan of that show), gives a subdued but powerful performance. He reminded me of Chris Cooper in "OCTOBER SKY". A proud man having a hell of a time getting a grip on his emotions. But when he does… it's pretty moving stuff.

Gathering Marbet (what a name!) is really fun to watch. A sad, and sexy character as Kansas. My heart went out to this lost soul. In fact, that's what this film is about really… lost souls looking for redemption. Grand L. Bush rips your heart out and shows it to you in his amazing delivery in the climactic scene. However, for me the most compelling performance in the movie was that of Nancy Hochman who plays Annie Beauchamp. Where on earth has this talented actress gone? She is simply terrific. Strong and confident, she handles her dilemma with grace and dignity! I see only one other credit for her after this film, "Godsend" (I don't remember her from that film). Too bad! She should be working! One very interesting thing I discovered was this. I went to the "vote" page and found that viewers in the Baby Boomer range liked the film much better than did younger people. As I say… this is a thinking persons film and with all due respect to the younger crowd… this is not the kind of film that they will be attracted to.

Wow! I just reread this review. I have never written one this long but I am realizing that this movie really made an impression on me. I call myself "Indiedefender" because many "Indies" never get a chance to be seen. When they are, almost by accident as is the case with FAVORITE SON (I found a "screener" copy at a yard sale… great cover) I feel the need to say something about them.

To defend them from people who really don't take a film for what it was meant it to be, but instead what THEY expect or want it to be.

IMDb is great but it makes a critic out of EVERYONE. Many that are not qualified… not that I am … but I am just a true fan and LOVE indie films and appreciate what it must take to make one. This one is DEFINITELY NOT for everyone. However, people with a heart… and a since of what is right (and wrong) in the world, will like it.

With things being what there are in the world today, this would be a good time to watch a film like this… but good luck finding a copy, I can't find it anywhere for sale or rent… and you can't have mine!

This movie was a big surprise, in that it carried such emotional power and talent, and I had never even heard of it before! It takes the familiar tale of the Prodigal Son and fleshes it out into a modern, tragic, sometimes-funny story. This is no ordinary indie picture. I mean, the actors are incredible (who is this kid Brad Hunt and where has he been??), the movie looks great and (do I really dare say this?) it actually had me crying at the end. I love independent films and I've seen a lot, and Favorite Son, for me, is a step above most. We need more like it.

I gotta tell ya, this is a good little movie. Yes,its low budget and all that, but it really delivers. You can't watch this without being moved by it. It starts a little slow but gets better every minute. Just a real old fashion kind of movie. Some of the comments I've seen on this site blow my mind. If you get a chance to see Favorite Son, I highly recommend it.

How I watched this cheesefest, I'll never know, but I am a movie reviewer and as horrid as this "film" is I have a job to do. How could Louis Herthum even think about walking off the set of "Murder She Wrote", and ruin his career with this silly piece of garbage. Heck, he could have even starred in "Mangler 2" and done more for his acting career. I don't know if his performance is just horrible or if the director, Steven Esteb, had some dark secrets on him and forced him to follow direction under threat of blackmail. Has the screenwriter ever read a book on screenwriting? It lacks basic elements of structure - like a plot. Brad Hunt plays an actor who returns home to Louisiana to be harassed by his older brother played by Herthum over a silly gun their father left when he died. Brad Hunt does somewhat of a good acting job considering the material, but Herthum just moans, groans and is so bitchy through the whole film. Is Herthum's character, Lance Beauchamp, supposed to be sympathetic? I feel sympathy for anyone who has to watch him. I would suggest that he take a correspondence course on acting if possible. I would advise no one to get near this sorry pile of vomit. Overall, it's the only movie I've ever got sick to my stomach from watching. It should never be viewed by human eyes again.