Fratelli, amori e tanti guai

I saw Gray Matters at the Hampton Film Festival and what a great choice I made. This movie is a must see. Molly Shannon is laughed out loud funny. Tom Cavanaugh and Heather Graham have amazing chemistry. Bridget Moynihan looks stunning. Alan Cumming and Sissy Spacek round out this unbelievable cast. I left this movie on such a high. Everyone who was walking out of the movie was saying how much they loved it from age 13 to an elderly couple and all ages in between. The scenes of Manhattan, music, dancing #'s, and most of all the acting and storyline were phenomenal. I was amazed to find out that this is a new director who also wrote the movie! I can't wait to see more of her work.

Saw this with my brother, whom I hang out with often, too, so you can say that we could sort of relate with the movie (except the part where Gray is gay, though ;o))!

Gray (Heather Graham of The Guru, Boogie Nights) and Sam (Tom Cavanagh of Ed) are siblings who are so close that people think they are an item. They meet a beautiful zoologist Charlie (Bridget Moynahan) in a dog park and the three of them hit it off. Sam and Charlie's whirlwind romance gets them hitched, but matters get complicated when Gray and Charlie share a passionate kiss.

Graham still looks cute as a button despite being in her mid-thirties, but she looks like she's trying too hard in the acting department. It's as if she's trying to be a Cameron Diaz/Sandra Bullock but it's just not translating well on screen. But it is not all her fault; the editing could've been so much tighter, with the dialogue delivery less stilted.

While it is also unbelievable that thirtysomethings in this day and age still memorize the forties' dance routines of Fred and Ginger Astaire, it was nice to see the dance sequences of Gray and Sam, and of Gray and Charlie. Amazing how graceful the girls could be!

Alan Cumming as the Scottish cabbie was incredibly weird. I kept expecting him to turn into the X-Men's creepy Nightcrawler (was I the only one who thought this??). But he was funny dressed in drag, nonetheless.

All in all, this film felt like a long sitcom episode. Only Molly Shannon, ever the comic pro, who plays Gray's crazy officemate, delivered all the punchlines effortlessly and efficiently.

I went to the Hampton's Film Festival in East Hampton this past weekend and saw a wonderful romantic comedy called Gray Matters. The film's overall look and message had a tone similar to one of my favorite directors, Nora Ephron. There was a delightful air of Harry Met Sally combined with You've Got Mail. The references throughout the movie to the 40's were superb. One of my favorite scenes was the opening shot where the two main characters Gray and Sam (brother and sister) ballroom dance to the tune of Cheek to Cheek, sung by actress Jane Krakowski. The footage of Manattan with Cheek to Cheek playing in the background had a feeling of a Woody Allen film. I thought the dialogue was not only funny but witty and timely. Molly Shannon delivers one of the funniest scenes in the movie referring to Oprah Winfrey and how she would surrogate a baby for Oprah and Steadman because she loves Oprah so much. It had the audience in hysterics. Heather Graham gives the performance of her career as a quirky, can't make up her mind, ad executive who struggles with her sexuality after meeting and falling in love with her brother's fiancée. Miss Graham was born to play to this role. At times she reminded me of a young Goldie Hawn. I stayed for the Q and A after the movie and was amazed to find out that the budget on this film was a 10th of what it appeared to be. If this was Sue Kramer's directorial debut, bravo, I look forward to seeing her next attempt at taking the helm. I would like to recommend this film for audiences of all ages. As I walked out of the theatre in East Hampton, I over heard an elderly woman around the age of 80 say " What a lovely film, I hope my granddaughters get a chance to see it".

Greetings again from the darkness. First time writer/director Sue Kramer certainly tackles an interesting and unique topic with her initial outing.

A quick synopsis: Brother (Tom Cavanaugh) and sister (Heather Graham) live together and are so close and spend so much time together that people naturally assume they are a couple (Ick!). Sister sets brother up with gorgeous, friendly, smart newcomer to the city (Bridget Moynahan) whom they meet at the dog park. Brother and newcomer immediately fall in love and set a wedding date for the next weekend. Sister and bride to be share a long, wet kiss before bride to be passes out drunk. This incident threatens to ruin brother - sister relationship while "outing" sister as the reluctant lesbian she is.

I rarely struggle over a rating or comments for a film. Normally the rating just hits me and the words flow. This one has me almost as confused as Heather Graham's character (Gray). I very much admire the soft-shoe approach that Kramer brings to this most delicate topic. No, I don't consider the theme "coming out" ... I consider the theme self-discovery of identity. Learning to accept one's self and not "pretend" to be what is expected. This topic is explored through some humorous moments, but in a strange way we actually go through the awakening with Ms. Graham.

The key actors all do a nice job. Graham and Cavanagh have a nice chemistry, Moynahan in lingerie is always a good call, Sissy Spacek as the world's worst therapist and Rachel Shelly in an extension from "The L Word" are all solid. Even Molly Shannon is finally cast in a role that suits her just fine. The best and most entertaining character is the Scottish cab driver played charmingly well by Alan Cumming. He is such a likable guy ... except for the whole gay bar scene.

What really prevents this one from reaching another level is strictly the number of unbelievable events. Two smart people zipping off to Vegas to get married after 6 days and having someone 30 years old first entertain thoughts of gaydom are just two large examples of stretches that ask the viewer for a bit too much latitude. Still, there are some funny moments, funny lines and a thought provoking identity theme that make it worthwhile.

Unfortunately, the film is the mud as well as the gem. Two perfect beauties, two usually miscast actors in roles that befit them, a rather original script... it all should have gone great. However, the overall directing of the movie is superficial, most of the support actors play badly and the script oscillates between very good and very bad.

The idea of the movie was nice, the overall setup, but the ending just blew and the hysterical explosions of badly acted emotion over badly written lines were like giants craters in the road to liking the film.

Bottom line: if you are looking for a romantic comedy, this at least has some brain and a definite direction away from stereotypes, even if it doesn't avoid them all. But the quality of it isn't great.