Take Me Home

I don't write many reviews, but this movie deserved one. The characters feel very real. I find myself wanting to multitask during most movies, but I ended up glued to the screen watching the subtle changes of expression on the actors' faces that really brought it across.

I thought at first "oh, great, a grumpy woman gets cheated on, grabs a taxi, and they fall madly in love in two days, make out, and shack up by the end of it". Gag. But this movie actually showed a real, believable romance developing, with plenty of the naturally funny bits from the silly quirks most everyone turns out to have when you get to know them.

I usually prefer action movies with a bit of chemistry tossed in, but this was nice. It is a good cuddle on the couch, lazy rainy day movie that, while you won't get great quotes, will leave you with a good feeling at the end.

I enjoyed watching this movie at the Chicago Film Festival with a lively, responsive crowd. It's a character-driven story featuring two unique individuals, against a backdrop of our beautiful, expansive country. As the journey progresses through big cities, desolate deserts and incredible canyons, the characters grow in their own personal journeys, confronting head on the reality of their life's decisions. For Claire, it's a marriage that is falling apart and a strained relationship with a father who just had a heart attack. For Thom, it's going broke pursuing a career he loves, and lying to his family about it out of shame and embarrassment. As the characters drive across the country together, they eventually reach two destinations -- California and the personal realizations that they need to change the patterns of their lives in pursuit of something more meaningful.

This is a great little film and I hope you all get a chance to see it. A woman whose life is falling apart gets into the back of a New York cab and tells the driver to "just drive". She falls asleep and wakes up on a highway in Pennsylvania. The cabbie is a guy who's life isn't any better and he uses her instructions to "just drive" as a means to easy money. That's the premise and the whole movie is spent on the road. Two people lost, desperate for something new. This movie really appealed to me from the get-go and there's so much to like about it. While we know exactly where the story is headed, the fun is all about getting there. It's an 'in-between' movie. This story of love unfolds slowly and it's refreshing to see a bond form gradually as opposed to the heightened whirlwind romances that dominate the rom-com genre. The lead actor, Sam Jaeger, also wrote and directed the film and the main actress is his real-life wife... and so the chemistry is solid between them. This is my type of romance story and I love when a movie leaves me with a massive smile... this one left me feeling really perked and as I said, getting to the end point was what the movie was all about. Well written, really well performed and beautifully shot throughout the vast stretch of emptiness between the east coast and west coast of America. Yay for this movie!

This is without a doubt one of the best romantic comedies I've seen in a long while, probably because it didn't come out of the Hollywood mill. With interesting, developed characters, a quirky, fun plot and twists that keep your brain alive, Sam Jaeger did a fine job writing a first class screenplay that doesn't rely on sex, animals, excessive profanity or outrageous antics to keep the laughs coming. Instead it relies on the quirks of the human condition, which is infinitely more funny than over-the-top pranks. The perfect date movie, it would rock the box office if it gets a chance, just by word of mouth. At the premier, a man with a kidney stone tried to tough out his pain just to see the end. Who can beat that for an endorsement?

Pleasantly surprised with the nice story about two strangers whose lives cross paths and they learn more about each other through some unexpected circumstances. Woot giving way anything, I can say my wife and I enjoyed the story and characters... Down to earth yet whimsically silly about how people respond to and develop an understanding about life and it's moments. Bravo, lovely little film. We would recommend this for anyone looking for a movie on a night in. It is a out of the way romantic comedy in a sweet way without the comedians but real folks. Never head of it but it came up on Amazon and thought we would give it a go and glad we did.