Expiration Date

I so appreciated not being taken out of the movie by messing with the geography like in Sleepless in Seattle where Tom Hanks gets in a rowboat on Lake Union then a few minutes later he puts ashore in Puget Sound. Or in Feast of Love having Reed College be Portland State University.

I saw this film at the Native American Film Festival at the Swinomish Community Center. A classmate of ours in Anacortes, his family owned a dairy in my high school years. Guess what? We used to "drag the gut" in that milk truck. Those milk trucks were very funny.

My father, his sister and brother all died young. I had just come up to the age my father was when he died. Then I saw this film. Yes, you think about that. Much rang true in this film. A further truth is in my high school a brother and sister in separate accidents were killed by trucks. Had either one of them had a child, you bet that child approaching their age of death would be keeping an anxious eye on trucks.

When you face that moment of truth when you look death in the eye what saves you are your roots; your spiritual roots. The native spirit is very strong. In my times of trouble I have been blessed with that spirit showing up in many forms. When Robert danced; a powerful spirit moment was in play. It was thrilling.

Nice ensemble performance, it was a kick to see David Keith. It was a fun romp. Hearing Robert Guthrie and Rick Stevenson speak added to the fun of seeing the film.

I heard Rick on a local radio station last week talking about the films' plot and that it was shot entirely in Seattle. It intrigued me. After making sure I was not going to see rated "R" fare, I traveled from Federal Way last night to the Egyptian Theater. I was pleasantly entertained and would not not hesitate to have my wife and teenagers see the film.

It was also good to see some actors/actresses I recognized; Dee Wallace Stone, David Keith, Nakota Larance...

Rick and company: Thank you for a truly enjoyable experience. I especially enjoyed the Native American scenes.

Honestly, I was disappointed in "Expiration Date." Super clever title and interesting premise, but I don't think it delivered. What was it about? The main character's desire to reconnect with his Native roots? Or, more likely, it was his need to overcome his fear of death. But, he wasn't set up as someone who has lived his life in fear -- it seems as if his life was going fine, but since doomsday is approaching he should now start worrying. I didn't buy it. Meanwhile, the supporting characters in the film didn't seem to have needs that blended into an overarching story. They were all just doing their thing, running parallel to the main character. Also, what was treated as a "curse" looked more like a coincidence. Who cursed the family? Why? When? Finally, why didn't he just plan on staying in his apartment all day on his birthday? Those are my criticisms, but I did love the shots of Seattle, cinematography was beautiful, acting was good in the times it wasn't outstanding.

A great film. Truly enjoyed the story and acting. Very funny film. Catch this film if you can and you won't be disappointed.

Just won Best Feature and Audience Award at the Omaha Film Festival. The presence of Rick Stevenson at the festival answering questions made the event and film really enjoyable.

Hopefully a wider audience is able to get to see this movie soon. Look forward to whatever is next on Rick's list.

The Omaha Film Festival was in its first year and was run like a top notch festival with quality films, documentaries and shorts. This festival should be a huge success for years to come.

OK, it's very rare that I complain something I got for FREE. So I guess this movie pushed me over that limit. I saw it at the Hollywood Cemetery for FREE and walked away very very disappointed. One audience member's question to the director about using the Native American references just as "bookends" instead of being weaved into the movie better, basically says everything that this movie FAILED on.

NATIVE American REFERENCES--- The Native American references felt really out of place and contrived. It's obvious that this director and writer tried tackling an arena they never played in before. They should have stuck to the old adage of "write about something you know". IF they are in fact versed in this it certainly did not show on the movie or the beauty of this unique culture was not given proper justice.

Clichés and ON THE NOSE--- I agreed to see this film on the basis that it was an indie. So I held it to higher expectations. "Little Miss Sunshine" was an indie and saw it before it became so popular. Before it even came out to wide release I was already raving how it's going to be a hit. UNFORTUNATELY I could not say the same about "Expiration Date". "Sunshine" took us to cliché incidents but the filmmakers were so clever at their approach that the outcome would take us to a different direction avoiding the trap of being a "cliche". This movie on the other hand had no way of not falling in the trap because it was already TRAPPED from the start. The psycho mom's antics, the Hendrix couple, etc.

I hate to say it, but the best and WORST movie I've seen this year were both indies. "Little Miss Sunshine" being the best and this movie being the worst. I wish I could say otherwise.

But I do congratulate the filmmakers for having such a good turn out from their family members at the cemetery.