The Griddle House

I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV when it came out, so when I came across a little independent film that features 3 of the actresses, I was a bit intrigued.

No, not a supernatural film or anything with action in it.

Honestly, it many ways it reminded me a bit of the type of thing you'd see on Highway to Heaven.

Just a slice of life film, really.

Even though Amber Benson, Charisma Carpenter and Clare Kramer are likely to be relatively unknown to most people, I got to admit I immediately smiled just to see them. I have a feeling that it got made simply because they knew each other..

A simple story, well told and well acted.

A story involving people being mostly kind, loving, and supportive.

It might not be what most people are looking for, but I liked it.

This pitiful try at a comedy was at first disguised as a romcom ...pitiful

I have a genuine theory that every character in this film is a robot replicating a human being but not quite well enough. Something about these characters, the way they acted, spoke and the things they chose to do all just sat wrong with me and didn't feel human.

Luke Perry stops to help a stranded motorist on New Year's Eve and they get to talking about how back in his youth when his role is played by Alex Shaffer he goes out in search of his birth mother reputed to hang around a 24 hour diner called The Griddle House.

When there Shaffer meets some interesting, interacts with some drama with other people there as the clock ticks the year away.

Nothing really more to say. William Saroyan's great play The Time Of Your Life seems to have been the inspiration for this film. But in execution it falls woefully short.

An interesting try though.

I don't understand the over-the-top negative reviews of this movie. It's as though the viewers were expecting a blockbuster, over-produced cinematic home run. Expectations are different for independent movies - not lower - but different. I expected and enjoyed the interwoven stories and characters that inhabited The Griddle House. It almost felt like I was watching a production at the local playhouse, where all the characters and actors were approachable and believable. The only thing that keeps me from rating this movie higher is the volume of the ambient music; it overshadowed much of the dialogue.