Along the Way

I was fortunate to grow up in a time when films really had something of substance and magic. The problem with Hollywood is no one wants to risk their company BMW and expense account to take a chance on this film. This film moved me to the point of tears and inspired me to call my best friends to let them know how important they are to me. The film infected me much like The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire did when I was younger. Andrew Bowen is one of the most talented actors in the business and could win an Oscar for this performance if given a shot. The amazing part is he co-wrote and directed the film as well. This film will see theatrical distribution because someone out there is going to take a chance on the merits alone in this impactive drama. I hope that it will be marketed enough to get the word out. Hollywood may be out of touch but the public will always respond to a powerful story.

In September, I attended the Wilmington Independent Film Festival. Among the multitudes of features, shorts & documentaries was a film that, to this day, I can't stop talking about. Within minutes of the first scenes, "The Haven" held my attention and wouldn't let go until the very end. I have seen other movies with similar themes and "The Haven" more than holds up against any of them. This may be about four guys but it's not a "guy flick" by any stretch of the imagination. What I found while watching "The Haven" is that I could identify deeply with each one of the characters and with the situations they encounter. All the elements worked - directing, acting, cinematography, beautifully written story, well developed characters - to make "The Haven" a film worth seeing.

Most people know talented actor and comedian Andrew Bowen from his short time on FOX-TV's sketch TV show, "Mad TV." Unfortunately they more than likely have not learned about him as the producer/director and head writer of a self-produced film from 2000 called "The Haven." "The Haven" is a loving and poignant story of four friends and the the trials and tribulations of what their "circle of life" has meted them from their chance meeting in grade school, the carefree days through high school and college, and that awkward time between late adolescence and the beginning of "the rest of their lives." The story also honestly depicts the not-so-fun underbelly of the realities of life and relationships when maturing personalities clash. While "The Haven" has many moments most audience members can relate to, the script has its moments of implausibility from a storytelling standpoint, and moments of way-over-the-top overracting especially as it relates to the four boys' relationships and conflicts to their outside world (parents, girlfriends, etc.). These moments unfortunately distract from the intent of the main storyline and are compounded by what some may view as totally unmotivated gratuitous violence and possibly mar what could have been a "great" movie into a "good" movie. Despite this, "The Haven" is an a notable artistic achievement from Andrew Bowen and one can only hope he will be able to capitalize on this milestone of a project in his future endeavors on his obvious talents as an actor "and" producer/director/writer.

I caught a screening of this film last night at a small film festival, The First Anual Desert Reel Festival in Odessa, TX, and was absolutely blown away. This film should not be reduced to scraping around at festivals trying to pick up attention. This film should be number one at the box office. Understand that this remark comes from a guy who is generally very hard on dramatic films. The emotions are usually overblown and the conclusions often ring false or forced. Not in THE HAVEN. All of the characters were well developed and completely believable. I haven't cried in a film since I was 7 or 8 years old watching ET, but let me tell you, there were several scenes in this one that nearly got me. I can't say enough about what a fabulous film this is, or even about the accessibility of those who made it. I met the writer/director, the editor, the producer and one of the stars at the festival and found them all to be really great guys. I wish them, and THE HAVEN all the luck in the world with this excellent film. And I urge any studio with any credibility at all to pick up this movie at the first opportunity. Stars or no, this is the best drama I've seen in years. Possibly ever.

I am writing this for anyone who has not yet seen, or is questioning, The Haven.

I went to see this movie in a little bar in Park City, Utah, during Sundance. My best friend and I walked in about 20 minutes into it. and what I seen of it was totally gripping. They done another showing promptly after the first, so my buddy and I decided to stick around and see what we missed. We had full intensions on leaving after we seen what we had missed, but we were so ingulfed in it that we opted to finish the movie a second time.

The actors and writing were great, I could relate to each of the roles personally. I found this movie to be an amazingly powerful film. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but it's one of those movies that after you see it, you feel different, and you can't stop thinking about it.

I would strongly suggest anyone see this movie, and if you get the chance to talk to John (the writer) take the chance he is an extrememly down to earth guy. We were in Park City, with literally 1000's of people, we went back to see it again the second night, and John seen us, and remembered us by name. I find that pretty outstanding. After the film he asked us to give hime a testamony on film, which we were more than happy to do, for a film that contained such raw power and charisma. I'm no movie critic, but I would definately give this film 10 stars, on a 5 star rating system.

It's amazing, check it out.