American Primitive

Watch Wild About Harry; you'll enjoy the full spectrum of teenage angst and maturing realizations of what is reeaalllly important in love and family. Acting is spot-on and the characters ARE the ERA. The naivety of the characters IS an integral part of the "period-piece". Though the film is well-over a decade old, It Should be Distributed in Wide Release because it deserves to be seen and recognized for its acting, writing, directing and poignant message/story telling. Admittedly, I am biased because this is the reverse story of my life - A Story Never to be Repeated - wishing my story could have come full-circle as this one wonderfully did. Congrats to All Involved❗

I just saw this movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. It was the "world premier" - which I find odd since the film was shown in 2008 elsewhere. The film said copyright 2009 - so perhaps it was re-edited. Overall I liked the movie, though as a gay man, I realized right away that it was from the viewpoint of the straight daughter. The theme that families of all kinds are valid was the best part. I wish that there had been more understanding of the gay characters, particularly in the era that the film was set. The gay characters seemed dim-witted and incompetent of detailed conversation. Perhaps that's the way they were supposed to appear. I wish the daughter who was the poet had more lines. She was terrific. I do congratulate the producer for a great film on her first try.

Tate Donovan sports a British accent for this really mediocre family drama that I found quite hard to struggle through. Following the death of his wife, he and his two daughters "Madeline" (Danielle Savre) and "Daisy" (Skye Bartusiak) relocate to a small community on Cape Cod where he falls, a bit unexpectedly, for "Theo" (Adam Pascal). They try to keep their relationship secret but of course the cat can't stay in the bag for long and there now develops an actually quite torrid story of selfishness, intolerance and stupidity. To be fair to Donovan ("Harry") he does just about enough here as the dad juggling truths, lies, love and lust - but "Madeline"! If she had been mine I would have put her in a velvet sack. I wish I could say that it was Savre's talent as an actor that drove me mad, but it wasn't. She is terrible, but shares responsibility for her shocking delivery with the writers who provide a characterisation of this truly odious individual who sneaks around spying on her father; a creature who peeks through keyholes and eavesdrops from the stairs. Imagine if her father had done that to her as she carried on with her own "private" life. The story is all so contrived and frankly unpleasant. It's implausible, and the arrival of the always wooden as a spoon James B. Sikking ("How can you have yellow alert in space dock?") as his religiously bigoted father just further commends this sentimental and flawed drama to the doldrums. Who is this for? Well that's anyone's guess - but it was certainly not for me.

My in-laws and I had a wonderful experience watching this film at Hyannis film festival, met the producer and the director, extremely wonderful people. Personally, I feel like like nowadays this is a must-watch film.

What a fantastic debut feature from Gwen Wynne. I was privileged to have the opportunity to see it on the big screen at Outfest 2009, and what a joy it was! In all honesty, I went to the film primarily because an actress I admire, Anne Ramsay, played one of the supporting roles. I had no idea I would be in for such an enjoyable afternoon - and subsequently bought tickets to the next (and final) showing of the film. I enjoyed both screenings mightily, and am so glad I had the chance to see it. Contrary to my expectations (from the title I saw it under, "American Primitive"), the film was quite funny, and though I know gay subject matter is still sadly taboo in many American households, I found it to be quite family friendly. I'm actually thrilled to find out that they're changing the title - I think that will likely attract a wider audience, which deserves to see this film.

I also have to emphasize, as I find it irritating in a range of gay films - this film is NOT meant to preach to you. Far from it - it instead tells an honest story, more focused on the coming-of-age of the daughters of a gay man than on his relationship, which functions more as a backdrop than a central focus, a fact I appreciated. A particular stand-out in the cast was Skye McCole Bartusiak as Daisy, who got frequent laughs from both viewing audiences when I was in attendance.

I can't wait for the DVD, as I've been encouraging friends and family alike to see it where it's available, and though a few have managed to catch it at festivals, I would love to be able to force - I mean, cajole - them to purchase the DVD. ;-)