bobbymeizer

This well-written and well-directed study of the pot growers culture of western Humboldt County, California is informed by a sympathetic and knowledgeable viewpoint. Marijuana use is not demonized, nor is it particularly glamorized. To me, the high points of the film are the performances of the seasoned character-acting pros, Frances Conroy and Brad Dourif. They perfectly capture both the charm and the near insanity of intelligent people who've dropped out of a mass culture driven by greed and selfishness, while yet retaining their own egoistic needs. The film could have been excellent, but it's marred by a couple of casting mistakes. Chris Messina is an excellent and appealing actor, but he is so New York that it's simply impossible for me to see him as a native-born resident of Humboldt County. Still, his skill is such that he almost pulls it off. Jeremy Strong is another matter. I'm sure he can be quite good when properly cast, but in this part he is so utterly affect-less and unappealing that I just can't evoke any empathy for or interest in him. That's not a usually good quality in the protagonist of a film, to say the least. He would certainly be great playing someone on the autism spectrum, though.

I'm a married heterosexual man with two children, and I don't see how any human being with a heart could see this film and still think that there is something wrong or unnatural about same-sex marriage. Tom and Mark are beautiful and charming as individuals, but the depth and truth of their love so transcends the idea that marriage has anything to do with the sex of the partners that only someone with a heart and mind cemented closed could fail to recognize it. I saw this film when it first came out, and I've seen it twice seen. Though I wept each time, with each viewing I felt more joy as well. This film is one of the reasons my wife and I have taken our kids to the pride parade every year. We want them to know without a doubt that whatever their sexual orientation turns out to be we will always love them just as much. No God worth a second's thought could keep Tom and Mark out of heaven. They will live in people's hearts far longer than the prejudices of our age will.