Keep Your Distance

This film was a very pleasant surprise. I must say that I went in expecting much less than I got. It's quick-paced and fairly short, so it barely feels like you've spent any time in the theater at all. Nice, quick little thrill ride. And, the ending! Wow. Who would've ever guessed that... Well, you should definitely see it for yourself. It's wonderful how you walk away from this one rethinking how much you trust everyone! Friends, family, coworkers, everyday acquaintances. You may never look at your loved ones the same way again. I was up at the RIIFF in Providence and happened to catch this there. The acting, the music, the cinematography, the fitting bits of humor - all near perfect. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the chance. If nothing else, hopefully the DVD will be along soon enough!

I was fortunate to catch this at a sneak preview in Los Angeles and was very nicely surprised. Pollard has created a sure-footed send-up of modern romance and what happens when devotion goes over the edge. Camera-work and settings around Kentucky were beautiful, creating a different spin from the constant romance-in-a-big-town-between-overeducated-professionals genre we all know too well.

Story splits its time between David (Gil Bellows of "Ally McBeal" & "Shawshank Redemption"), a popular (and married) local radio talk-show host and Melody (Jennifer Westfeldt of "Kissing Jessica Stein"), an attractive pharmaceutical saleswoman traveling through town to see her boyfriend, Sean (Christian Kane, "Angel" & "Friday Night Lights"). David meets Melody by chance after she humiliates Sean by turning down his very public marriage proposal. As a friendship develops between the two, we learn than Sean's not going to give up so easily on Melody and that David's perfect life as upstanding pillar of the community may not be what it seems...

Pollard deftly moves between romance, satire and unfolding mystery without ever letting his story run low on gas. The storyline is tight and the dialog is witty, funny and crisp. Realistic characters have to work around their warts, which creates a very funny commentary on marriage, dating and romantic obsession. Jennifer Westfeldt is particularly good at making a lot out of her neurotic beauty Melody, and she does look good here. Very nice use of multiple subplots and supporting characters (including "Mike Hammer" Stacy Keach and Elizabeth Pena of "Jacob's Ladder"). The story will keep you guessing until the last shot.

Good solid entertainment- keep an eye out for director Pollard in the future. 8/10

Keep Your Distance is about a talk show host (David) and a drug saleswoman (Melody) who get caught up in several scandals, including their own. Melody has a possessive and rich boy friend who gives everyone the willies. David gets letters that show him things about his life and he confides in Melody who he meets by chance, and they help each other through some tough times as friends. As things start to pan out some clues start to give away the twists that occur at the end. A class A film technically with lots of good scenes. Acting was very good and the characters where believable. In the end, the letters spell out a lame plot as the characters have to explain it all to the audience.

The best thing about this movie is Christian Kane. I have seen several of his movies and I continue to be amazed by the depth and breadth of his acting. The fact Christian sings in this movie is an added bonus! If you're a fan of Christian Kane, this movie is worth your time.

If you're not a Christian Kane fan, don't waste your time. Watching Gil Bellows act is like watching paint dry. The other actors aren't much better.

The movie had potential but it fell short. If it wasn't for Christian, I would have given this movie a 1. In my opinion, he was the saving grace of this movie.

I have a strong suspicion that many of the glowing reviews for this film come from shills. If not, then I'm baffled. As my friend said, "There went ninety minutes that I'll never get back."

The best part of the film is the title sequence, which was very slick and set the right suspenseful mood. After that, things went quickly downhill. The acting is workmanlike, the script is full of clumsy dialogue, and the direction is riddled with embarrassing clichés. (For instance, during the final showdown, which of course takes place in a dark house during a thunderstorm, we are treated to a flash of lightning suddenly revealing the silhouette of someone on the doorstep -- twice!)

"Keep Your Distance" tries to be a character-driven suspense film, but the problem is that the characters are insubstantial and unlikable and there is no suspense. I knew who the culprit was from the beginning, simply due to Ebert's "law of economy of characters," but I didn't know why. At the end of the film, I still didn't know why. The clues that we are given, when they are finally deciphered by the characters, turn out to be mostly irrelevant.