Thanks to Gravity

As a debater myself, I was intrigued when the local Cinevegas film festival was debuting a movie about debate. And here are my thoughts: I thought Thanks to Gravity did a great job of depicting debate in a more global setting. The writer/producer (Jessica Kavana-Dornbusch) was a former debater herself and I think she found a good middle-ground for the general public to follow along and for someone like me to think it was a somewhat accurate portrayal. Maybe it's me being selfish and wanting everyone to know what debate is, but this film felt at home with me.

I think this is the first film to depict women in the male-dominated activity of policy debate (referred to as team debate in the film), which is welcoming because the guy/girl ratio is about 4:1 these days. It also did a good job of depicting women finding themselves in general. Also the racial subplot of the main character being a Latina-Jew was interesting, and while the movie could have definitely expanded on that subplot, it did a good enough job of exposing my friend and I to that culture.

The cast while mostly unfamiliar to many excluding a few headliners like Sean Austin (LOTR) had great on-screen chemistry, whatever that is supposed to mean. The main actress, Gina Phillips, is not only breathtakingly beautiful but was well casted for her role. Overall, the movie also flowed well, which is one of my biggest complaints with movies these days, and I recommend it if you have a chance to see it.

Saw this at CineVegas yesterday, it was absolutely awful. Produced by a family member of one of the prominent Cinevegas sponsors, this film is a testament to mediocrity. The film picks up and drops off story lines like dirty laundry, and not a single character is believable. Sean Astin plays a hippy debate coach to a 36 year old high school student, a cowboy runs the Harvard debate team, the Holocaust-surviving grandmother doesn't look a day over 50, and the filmmakers fill in holes in the plot with lines like "I forgot you went to Harvard," and "I forgot you played soccer." This "amateur hour" production is definitely worth missing.

The preview/trailer makes the film out to be a Jewish girl cliche. But that's not the movie or story at all. There's so much more to the film that the team that made the trailer should be fined, big time.

To avoid playing spoiler, I'll just say that so many issues are touched on, including very real-life, still-relevant issues that often get glamorized in movies, but they don't here.

You believe that Gina Phillips' Jordan protagonist is living her problems, and having her world turn upside down. The debating club issues weave in and out, but the storyline and script are first-rate.

The supporting cast is also terrific--including Azura Skye, Rachel Miner and Joaquim de Almeida.

This is one of those accidentally-discovered movies I didn't want to end. Too bad more people don't know about it!