Stevie D

As indies go, this IS AN INDIE for sure. By that I mean it is easy to see that there were budget constraints and maybe more time could have been spent editing in some spots. But overall, this film hits the mark, tells a good story with likable, well written characters brought to life by a solid ensemble cast.

At the opening of the film, I was concerned that I was going to be subjected to 2 hrs of a predictable, mafia-trope-laden tale of caricature bad guys from the East Coast doing and saying "down and dirty" East Coast things (in LA). While there were elements of this (strip clubs, the uber-machismo of the film's antagonist and his legion of sycophantic followers) the story quickly settled into an engaging and charming ride for the audience.

In the end, this is a wonderful film. Chris Cordone scores the proverbial hat trick - It is well written, directed and acted with ALL the characters from main cast to supporting players to the bit parts so well developed and ALL contributing to the story. A fun tale that I characterize as: "Prince & The Pauper meets the confluence of RomCom, Mafia, ActorLife & Noir"

Chris Cordone does a great job here, playing two entirely different characters who just happen to look alike. And he wrote and directed the movie too, so this just adds to how great his work is. It's kind of a silly formula but it works for me, and everything he has done is worthwhile.

Here's the real proof of how much I enjoyed the movie: as I would look to see how much time was left, the end of the movie was in sight and I didn't want it to be over.

And yet something happened that made the ending kind of a disappointment, so I no longer felt the way I had felt. But that's okay because things got better.

I recognized Hal Linden, who I knew so well as Barney Miller. I've thought I saw him before, but this time it was really him. And he's still got it. As of whenever this movie was made.

And there were plenty of other good performances from leading actors. Let's not forget the hit men, who seem a little threatening but can't seem to do anything right.

And we do get to see Lenny act in a real movie. He's actually good!

The music was great. Mostly jazz, and I don't mean smooth jazz.

Is this family friendly? Not really. There are the scenes in the strip club, and in the version I saw the sound goes out a lot while the mouth of the character speaking is blurry. But I get the impression a lot of words were left out that would be fine on broadcast TV.

This was a very funny movie.

I really enjoyed this film. The relationships are all really thoughtful, even the hit men have loads of personality and a natural and funny rhythm with their banter. They provide a lot of genuine comic relief, and they are almost like watching a funny old married couple. I also really enjoyed the connection between Michael (the fake Stevie) and Lenny (played by the fabulous Kevin Chapman). It was fun to watch Lenny go from thinking "we're doing this poor sap a favor" if the fake Stevie (Michael) gets bumped off in their ruse...to actually putting a guard on him because he wants to protect him from getting hurt. Could it have been edited a little tighter? Sure! But given that it's a low budget film, and I've seen so many of those, I think Chris Cordone did a lovely job, and it's obvious he squeezed every bit of substance out of that budget that he could...especially with all the great casting. I loved seeing John Aprea do his thing, better than anyone else. Such a natural. And I also really enjoyed seeing the great Hal Linden! He is a treasure. Torrey DeVito is beautiful and does a nice turn as Daria. Even the characters that have less than 5 minutes of screen time make the most of what they've got and bring something engaging to the film. I think it's a refreshing and fun film, in a sea of remakes and big budget boring movies. I like movies with characters I can actually care about it...and Steve D. delivers.

Based on some of the reviews that I have read, I didn't expect this movie to be all that good but I was gladly wrong. Every actor in this film did an amazing job bringing their characters to life which is something that is rare during films these days there's always that one actor that just doesn't get it quite right, but I loved all the performances. I really loved the romance between "Stevie" and Daria I personally love Torrey DeVitto which was why I watched this movie and I think she and Chris did an amazing job chemistry wise. The hit-man were a great add for the comedic aspect of the movie, you will possibly find yourself chuckling at their antics. Jumping back a little, I LOVED how the movie started with the black screen and someone telling the audience that Stevie is dead, that really drew me in and made me pity the character more and more throughout the film. I also loved near the end where everything was coming to be making you really sit at the edge of your seat.

The only thing that I do agree with from the critics is the length. I do think it was a tad bit long for the plot to not be so complex, but with that being said every scene flowed together nicely, there wasn't anything that looked out of order or out of place.

All in all I thought that this was a great film to watch, it's in the mix of a romcom but not quite haha. 7/10 Stars

6/10 may be harsh, but i will not not put it up against similar production values - you have to put it up against all production values (it ain't no godfather, but it's watchable). I've seen a few magnificent cheap budget films that were better than this, and this one really could have been a great film if not for the flaws i will be detailing.

I liked the story. It was actually original, although some of the relationships were strained and unexplainable (for instance, a cold to hot leading lady just did not cut it, nor several other relationships).

Seeing Hal Linden as one of the minor support characters was a shear delight. Another reviewer here noted that there seemed to be a remarkable rift between the quality of the young and old actors on this film - and I would agree.

The two best things I can say about this film is that I watched it all the way through - and for me that's saying something. I don't tolerate bad films for any length of time. Also, the music was the very best thing about this film. It was jazzy, professional, fully integrated into the story and the scenes, and way ahead of the rest of the flawed story/acting/scenes.

One other complaint was the cinematography and staging. It was amateur. Again, I may be a bit harsh here, but the camera was often too focused, without the wide sweeps that tell part of the story, from strip clubs, to restaurants, to hotel rooms, and even a golf club. If you have good equipment, use it.