Everyday People

After seeing Jim McKay's "Girls Town" and "Our Song" (both shot VERY cheaply on video), I was totally unprepared for the beauty of EVERYDAY PEOPLE. It's gorgeously shot and edited and looks like a million bucks. Considering that it's mostly about a depressed Brooklyn neighborhood, this is all the more amazing. Whether this is due to the cinematographer, to McKay's direction, or just--at last--a bigger budget via HBO, I don't know. But congrats to all concerned. The movie itself is as wonderful as anything McKay has yet done. A famous Brooklyn eating hole looks like it's going out of business to make way for gentrification, and we viewers get to meet and spend some time with the owners and waiters, their relatives and friends, and even some of the "gentrifiers." The mix is bracing. Nobody ends up hero or villain, and if the movie never reaches the heights of great tragedy, comedy or romance, it also never overdoes anything. Scenes last only as long as they need to, each performance is real and exact, and by the end I'll bet you'll have chuckled often, (almost) shed a tear or two, and certainly better understood what a changing neighborhood means to a host of different people. As simple as "Everyday People" appears to be, this kind of ensemble of people and social issues is not easy to pull off without undue soapboxing. But McKay, his cast and his crew have done it. (And Billoah Greene, who plays Samel, should be going places, FAST!)

Jim McKay ("Our Song", "Girls Town") directs this provocative yet optimistic slice-of-life film set in Brooklyn, which recently premiered on HBO.

Covering the events of one long day in the lives of several people in and around a popular neighborhood restaurant that is set to shut its doors soon, "Everyday People" is pretty much all talk. But like "Smoke", another character-driven, slice-of-life film set in Brooklyn (and one of my all-time favorite movies), the talk is fascinating, and the characters' stories weave together in a way that is truly satisfying.

Someone once said (I think it may have been Gene Siskel, but I'm really not sure) that the true test of a good movie is whether it feels like the characters were alive before the movie started and go on living after it ends. Well, "Everyday People" passes that test with flying colors. Though there are far too many characters for each of them to be fully developed, this is an extremely well-written and acted film, and each character feels very real.

Also, McKay deserves credit for not tying up the film with a pretty bow. It ends on a note that feels good, but he leaves several characters' destinies up in the air. After all, most problems aren't solved in a day, and it's nice that McKay understands that.

An added bonus: it features lots of new music by one of America's most brilliant and underappreciated singer-songwriters, Marc Anthony Thompson, a.k.a. Chocolate Genius (pick up 1998's "Black Music" if you need proof).

This is an ensemble story of the employees of a diner about ready to be closed. The reactions of the people are varied as are their individual stories. That's what makes this movie. I was interested in all of the people, even if I didn't completely understand their motivations and reactions. This is an exceptionally well-written story and well worth the time to watch it.

I enjoyed this movie, but the direction and pacing were slow. The editing contained a few too much stock footage. While a bit slow, the characters maintained my interest in the movie overall.

I like movies that aren't scripted "tight". We don't know all of the choices that all of the characters make in their lives after the credits roll. While that is a turn off to those weaned on Hollywood movies, I find that adds to the intrigue of a movie.

If you like character-driven movies as I do, this one is any enjoyable way to spend 90 minute. (Rating 8/10)

There are not many movies that have been able to hold my attention lately. I find myself hitting the stop button far to often. I expected nothing better from what looked like a slow drama, Everyday People.

But I never once had the urge to shut off my DVD player. It is unfortunate that this movie is almost certain never to find a niche.

That is a shame. The movie is the engrossing story of-shockingly enough-everyday people with normal, everyday lives. If you feel sold out when a nice, simple drama ends in gunfire for some silly reason, if you're sick of CGI movies with no heart, this is you're movie. It doesn't need to force events to carry the plots along; instead, we get several stories that unfold naturally.

A restaurant is closing and it's staff must find new jobs. How they react and how their lives are changed is the story, no more, no less. The entire movie takes place over one work day. The acting is solid, the writing equally good. All around this is simply a well made little movie.

Another delight was that there really aren't fixed endings. Who settles their lives in one night? These people do not. We don't know what is going to happen to them or even if things will be okay in the end; we know only what we are given.

Overall, this is an engrossing, low key drama that you shouldn't pass up.

*** (three stars out of four)

is something real, and rarely depicted so well; there is no melodrama; just people trying to survive. Besides the fact that there are many excellent, underexposed actors; Reg E. Cathey, as Akbar; as well as many of the younger cast members. The movie holds the interest of the audience, because each character is well-developed and believable.

The setting is a deli/restaurant in Brooklyn, which is being taken over by developers; this means that all the employees are out of a job, and the owner also struggles with his conscience as he realizes that: Yes, what he does has an affect on other people. This is a very pertinent story; especially in today's economy; where one either works for a "multi-national corporation" and sells out, as one character tells her mother, or pursues their dream, if they are able.

You will totally enjoy this movie, as it is something most people can relate to, and while it portrays cold reality, there is also a hopeful and positive ending.

As an addendum I would also say that I hope the writer is considering a follow-up to this story, many people who have seen this movie relate to the characters, and hope to see what happens in the future; movies like this are few and far between, substance and character, not slick Hollywood "trash for cash"; which most people tire of after age 20.