Mergers & Acquisitions

I saw this film at the Sonoma Film Festival. It is an intelligent film about a guy who is caught between ethics and looking out for his own best interests when a huge corporation threatens to take over the small magazine he has worked at for ten years. The acting is really good. The lead character Del, played by Steven Chester Prince, is likeable, charming and cute too! I really enjoyed the film and got caught up in the dilemma that Del faced.

It's too bad the phrase "great little film" carries connotations of a backhand compliment, because without such connotations it describes "Mergers and Acquisitions" pretty well. This highly personal, unpretentiously intelligent film dramatizes the types of questions, trends, decisions, and ethical dilemmas that can suddenly pop into anyone's life these days (what sort of community do I consider livable? whose work do I want to support? what kind of work is really worth my time? where's the line between protecting my interests and being able to look myself in the mirror?). Almost everything about the contemporary American economy seems structured to distract people from taking these questions seriously -- but after seeing how Del and several other well-drawn characters respond when a corporate reorganization forces those questions on them, you just might ask a few hard questions about your own world. "M&A" isn't didactic or tiresome about this, just respectful of your intelligence. And it'll definitely hover in the back of your mind the next time you decide where to grab a cup of coffee.

Is it entertaining? Sure, as long as you don't expect everyone and everything in a film to be larger than life. These characters are as large as life, which is... well, large, right? Joe Bob Briggs wouldn't say "check it out," but I bet Barbara Ehrenreich would. Recommended for audiences who understand that "mature" means something more than whether someone's capable of handling nudity.

I first screened Mergers & Acquisitions for the Long Island International Film Expo. Every judge agreed this was a "must screen" film. Newsday decided to review three of the films playing that year. Mergers & Acquisitions got a stellar review, and went on to win Best Feature Film at the LIIFE that year. I highly recommend this thinking person's film. Excellent directing, acting and story. These days, one doesn't often seen a film with a conscience. And after having run the Long Island International Film Expo for 10 years, this still remains one of the Best of the Fest. Something refreshing apart from the assembly line films seen in most theaters.