Au Pair, Kansas

I managed to catch this movie on Netflix. While flicking through the selection catalogue, a still of Traci Lords popped up. I recognised her straight away, and knew I had to watch it. Now before I continue I have to say I am a massive Traci Lords fan. I have followed her from her rise as the biggest name in the adult film industry to her re-birth as a legitimate actress. This may be the reason I have a bias towards her.

In any case, I have also gone through all of the reviews, both negative and positive. Since others have covered everything here in great detail, I will just add briefly to it and say I also enjoyed the film. It was a feel good movie that ultimately succeeded. There were parts in it that did not seem realistic, but it did not take away from the overall experience. Traci looked as beautiful as ever, and it is great to see how well her career as an actress has progressed throughout the year. I would recommend this.

I really enjoyed this movie - the fact that it is a low budget movie does not show! It is beautifully captured, realistic and very sweet! I liked the backgrounds, settings and the music, living in a small town myself - it felt very real!

The characters are very fitting for the storyline, you really feel like you get to know them and their personalities - even thought the movie is pretty short! You kinda form a relationship with them while watching! You share the emotions with and towards the different characters - it "pulls" you in! ;o)

Thank you for a great movie experience! I don't want to spoil anything - just see it for yourself, you won't be disappointed!! ;o)

I had the pleasure of seeing the first half or so of this film at the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in 2011. I was completely taken in by the lovingly developed characters and the beautifully captured scenes of winter in Kansas--so many shots of rolling hills painted in golden sunlight.

Just as the action was picking up, the power went out. It didn't just blink; an accident nearby took the whole block out, but the audience stayed put, hoping we would regain power and finish the film. Sadly, the theater officials confirmed that the festival was done for the night. They rescheduled the film, but I was unable to make those showings.

Understandably, I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to finally finish a film whose first half I truly loved.

As I watched the first half again, I remembered those lovingly created characters. Traci Lords gave a stellar performance as Helen, a widowed mom with a lot of frustration and anger. Håvard Lilleheie similarly played the part of Oddmund, an au pair from Norway, obsessed with soccer... and with unstoppable optimism and enlightenment. But is he straight or gay?

Things begin to move faster in the second half of the movie. As things get moving, Oscar Quintero (the fabulous Kay Sedia and Taco Chick) brings a bit of extra comedy, and things get sticky. Under-age drinking, accusations of molestation, estranged ex-wives, and Swedish dancing ensue. And why is Helen so angry? You'll have to check it out and see...

As Oddmund would say, "_Au Pair Kansas_ is Super Good!"

I enjoyed this film at the 2011 Naples International Film Festival last week. I was particularly impressed with the writer/director, JT O'Neal, who held an informative and entertaining Q&A afterwards. O'Neal is someone to watch in the independent film world. He is a wonderful storyteller, highly intelligent and very personable. The tales he told about making this film are almost as wonderful as the film itself. It is a story of seeking and finding happiness after loss. It reminds us that human beings need to play, to laugh and to love in order to get the most out of what life has to offer. The optimistic soccer nanny from Norway is the catalyst for this and you will love him. The two sons in the film (Atticus and Beau) also put in terrific performances.

I saw Au Pair, Kansas at "Action on Film" this year and thought it was the highlight of the entire week-long fest. Even though it looked like a pretty worthwhile film from the trailer, I was still surprised by how much I enjoyed it -- and it being made on a budget never crossed my mind.

The story is wonderfully unconventional, constantly surprising you with inspired moments that really hit the mark. And even though the projection conditions at AOF were less than ideal, the cinematography was clearly amongst the most absolutely gorgeous stuff you'll likely see in this budget range, certainly holding up against (and surpassing) many mainstream releases.

I appreciated the respect the script has for an intelligent audience -- clichés are thrown out the window to the point where I almost never could predict what would happen next, yet it always managed to feel like a natural (and often touching) outcome. There's a few spots that didn't resonate fully, and sometimes the slightly more goofy aspects come at odds with the more somber material, but it works far far more than it misses. The end result is a film that I really can't say I've seen anything quite like. As a filmmaker myself, there are a few things I can learn from pieces like this.

Seek it out! It's charming, funny and heartwarming. If this is JT O'Neal's first feature-length outing as a writer/director, I hope we get the chance to see many more.