Kalamazoo?

I went to see the movie in my hometown of KALAMAZOO. It was great to see a film made in the town where I grew up and live. It was fun to see how many of the places I could recognize. The show I went and saw had a nice surprise after the movie was over. The stars of the movie and the producer showed up for a question and answer session. After that, there was a CD autograph session in the lobby. You could purchase the sound track (made by all local KALAMAZOO musicians) and have them sign it. I was able to get all 5 signatures. They were Michael Boatman, Mayim Bialik (SP?), Josie Davis, Joanna Clare Scott and David O'Malley. It was a great time after a great movie.

I saw Kalamazoo? at one of the premiere nights in Kalamazoo and truly enjoyed this film. Kalamazoo? is filmed entirely in where else... Kalamazoo, MI and features Michigan based bands on the soundtrack.

Three women attend their ten year high school reunion but realize beforehand the time capsule containing the surveys they filled out upon graduation would be opened on reunion night. Fearing that their failures might be embarrassingly revealed, they embark on a mission to "search and destroy" the capsule and it's contents before that fateful night.

Kalamazoo? IS a comedy and delivers exactly that! It's fun, humorous and chocked with wisecracks, one liners and a little slapstick but, not to the point where you want to be put out of your misery. The first three quarters of the film are fast paced and reinforced by the subplot of their deceased (and unseen to the trio) grandmothers supervising the "mission" but warned by their heavenly agent (Michael Boatmen) not to help in any way.

Just past the second third of the film, Kalamazoo? takes a dramatic turn and believe me, you can feel it coming and connect with it immediately! Lacking is profanity, nudity and abusive language which makes it viewable to family audiences. Fans of John Huges work will notice some of his influences here especially utilizing the city of Kalamazoo as a set. Huges uses Chicago and the suburbs in many of his films.

The screenplay provided by one of the principal cast members (Joanna Clare Scott) with story credit provided by sister Dana E. Kowalski provide comedy relief to the ten year high school reunion ritual we have either lived through or are soon to experience.

Visit the website "kalamazoothemovie.com" for a short trailer, cast BIOS, stills and info on showing locations.

I was afraid of this movie. As a Kalamazoo resident, I was afraid I would only like it because it was in Kalamazoo. Then I realized I was afraid that I wouldn't like it ONLY because it was in Kalamazoo. The time it took me to work through that was the same time it took for me to get over the novelty of seeing my town on the big screen and the time it took for the characters to start to develop. And develop they did. Just having come from a high school reunion -- a few decades past the 10th -- I was pretty receptive to the theme, but I really wasn't prepared for the warmth and emotion surrounding the characters and found myself pulling for them. I was pleased that the high level of cinematography didn't make this feel like a small picture, and I was pleased with the brightness of the surrounding cast that helped strengthen the fact that growing up is about relationships, something that it takes several reunions for a lot of people to get. In that regard, the criticism that females were focused on the family part of their lives was off the mark. I would encourage our children, who are just in that 10th-range, to see the movie for just that message. Ultimately, though, it's not a message-movie, per se, but a movie that builds to make you feel for these specific characters. Very cool.

1- Low expectations often lead to increased satisfaction... I'll admit that personally I did not expect much from this movie. The fact that it was filmed locally and I knew several people involved with its production provided more than enough incentive to invest the time and money to see the results. However as a middle aged man going into the theater, almost everything I had heard about the film itself would not have led me there. The on-line trailer was pretty awful and will not do a thing to grow the audience. Young women on a high school reunion?...PLEASE; Time capsules?...GIVE ME A BREAK!!; Ghostly grandmothers coming down to earth to look after their granddaughters?...NO WAY!!! But Kalamazoo? turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining picture about three women who return home for their ten year high school reunion and discover a lot about themselves and life in a short weekend. Along the way, they ultimately discover that high school was over ten years ago and they had to let those memories go if they were to get on with their lives. While I couldn't relate to the plots' specifics, the film succeeds with a bigger story that would appeal to a larger public than the young women I anticipated it had been written for. Kalamazoo? has enough going for it to be a sleeper and succeed even outside of its home market in West Michigan, but its marketing needs to reveal that there is more to this picture to give it any chance.

2- First there has to be a story... A good movie needs to have a story and on several levels Kalamazoo? succeeds here. The basic story of the reunion and time capsule, of limited appeal to me, merely provides a vehicle to learn more about the main characters even if it does take most of the movie to get you there. I was surprised at my reaction toward the end of the movie as it all hit home to me that these characters, great long time best friends, really did not know each other all that well. Maybe it is that high school was not the best place to establish life-long friendships. At that age most of us are far to superficial and hardly know ourselves. High school is about the crowd and how we want to be perceived. After learning all of the really important stuff in Kindergarten, it's almost as if the rest of our primary and secondary education worked to suck that knowledge from us. It's not that high school friendships aren't all that important, but that people continue to grow well beyond those years. Becoming a secure adult ultimately demands that acknowledgment.

3- It has to keep moving... To be successful, a movie must keep the audience's attention. Once the premise is revealed it should move along reasonably to a climax and not allow the viewers to get their minds wandering. Kalamazoo? is well paced, in fact, while following the story I frequently found myself forgetting to look into the backgrounds for scenes and people I knew. That is a good thing! This is a short movie. Discounting the 15 minutes of previews at the start and about 10 minutes of out-takes at the end, there is only about 90 minutes to the movie itself, a nice length for this story. Scenes which defined non-central characters, such as the punch bowl scene at the re-union, were not dragged out, making them effective as comic relief and adding to, not detracting from the story line.

Overall I thought the acting in Kalamazoo? is actually pretty good, even if the direction was a little uneven to my way of thinking. The performance in Sheryl's house while searching for the capsule attempted to emulate the Three Stooges when I would have expected something else. But the characters worked well together although their different personalities made me wonder several times whether the three could ever actually have been best friends. Probably the best parts of the leads' performances were the scenes with their parents, which went a long way to define this film and make the story work. I was really less impressed by the grandmothers' roles than the parents'.

On the whole, Kalamazoo? is an entertaining piece, with a subtle message that can stay with you for a little bit after you leave the theater. It would be worth your time to check it out!

'Kalamazoo?' opened in its hometown on April 7 and has registered several "sold out" shows. Coverage in the local media report that audiences are loving this movie. The comedic scenes draw huge laughs while the more dramatic scenes have sparked a few tears. Getting to see a local town on the big screen is pretty cool and references to various businesses showcase the producers' pride in their hometown.

The cast -- including Joanna Clare Scott, Mayim Bailik, Josie Davis and Michael Boatman, spent the weekend mixing and mingling with crowds during a series of public appearances and Q&A sessions.

This film is currently running in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Holland, Grand Haven and Lowell. Even though the premiere festivities have passed, directors Joanna Clare Scott and Dana E. Kowalski continue to speak locally (4/13 at 6:30 p.m. at Herrick Library, Holland). Dates for the next release cities will be announced soon.