Touching Home

For me this movie is a hit or miss. The pitch is coming towards the hitter and anything is possible.

Ed Harris plays the father of two boys who grow up with major league baseball dreams, only to have them crushed by their father who's alcohol problem seems to stem from, well, I don't know, it's never really dealt with. The boys are inexorably tied up with their father's problems. But what those problems stem from is anybody's guess. There's no big speech, no big explanation, no big scene which is standard in drama's like these where the characters come together, yell, and either sort things out for the better or make them worse.

If the directors/writers/producers, who are two brothers who have some personal and family stake in the film, since they dedicated it to their father, if they just went into a little more depth with the Harris character and use his acting abilities even more, maybe deal with the psychological problems that make him drink, then this movie would have been substantially better. Instead, all we see him do is drink, then not drink for awhile, then drink some more, without any rhyme or reason as to the cause.

Things go well for the boys for awhile, then bad, good again, then bad, were perpetually going back and forth from balls to strikes with no in depth pitch to drive the audience home. Were left with a full count, the pitch heading towards the batter, is he gonna hit it, is he gonna miss, and then..........the end. How we got to that point in the game, the hit, runs, errors, everything before and in between that all led us to this movie, were just not told. Watching just the end of a game is not as exciting as watching it all the way through.

This film starts out very, very vanilla...the drunken father..the twin sons working at the quarry...nothing grabs you at all. It felt very 'routine' and I nearly took the DVD out and set out to return it midway through the film.

The movie also struggles to find its identity: Is it a film about baseball, alcoholism, or a love story? When one of the twins meets and befriends his teacher girlfriend, that romantic line is quickly forgotten and thrown by the wayside later in the movie. The actress simply disappears.

The father drinks himself into a stupor, yet nothing of his background possibly explaining his alcoholism is expounded upon or explained. He's just drunk all the time. He's therefore a very unlikable and almost unnecessary character - we just see a drunk meandering in and out of his sons lives.

The cinematography/locations are beautiful at times however - but pretty pictures alone does not a good movie make. The story and characters needed to be fleshed out further, particularly the father and the girlfriend. A weak effort indeed.

After attending a screening of "Touching Home" I can't say enough about this movie. This is a true tale of how twin brothers honor their commitment to their homeless father, showing both the good times, which were few, and the other times and how they learned to live with it. The Miller brothers not only wrote the story, but they produced, directed and starred in this film. The end product is simply amazing, particularly since they had no prior experience doing any of these things. This is the epitome of a labor of love with a thoughtful, heartfelt portrayal of their life with their alcoholic, homeless dad. It is remarkable that these brothers managed to function in such a dysfunctional family but they never lost hope that things would get better. In many ways these situations can apply to anyone with an alcoholic love one which left the audience quite thoughtful even after the film was over. I found myself thinking about the film and the act of making this film for days after the screening. I must add that the film, based in Marin County, in the San Francisco bay area, does a nice job of capturing the beauty of this rural area. I am seldom this enthused about a film of this nature but this is a must-see. Run to the theater when it opens in your area.

I'd read the Miller brothers book (YOU'RE EITHER IN, OR YOU'RE IN THE WAY), when it first came out a few months ago and have been itching to see their film ever since. I was finally able to catch the film at a wonderful sneak preview screening, in the awesome Smith Rafael Film Center. And I was even able to chat with the filmmakers afterward. What a treat!

The Miller brothers have created a work of art out of literally nothing. As a feature film producer myself, I know what kind of determination and stamina this takes and my hat goes off to them for a job (extremely) well done. The long hours, sleepless nights, anxiety and frustration all becomes worth it, when you sit in the theater and see your finished product screened before an audience.

Ed Harris was remarkable (as always), the story was simple yet complex and emotionally poignant. The cinematography was beautiful and subtle. I liked that it wasn't over stylized and just allowed the characters and their journey to be the main focal point of the film. TOUCHING HOME is a great little 'slice of life' movie, that touches the heart and speaks eloquently to the depth of human relationships and loss.

I hope that this calling card piece ignites the careers of these talented guys. Bravo to the entire cast/crew!

I like Ed Harris; he is a quality actor, but I hated his character in this film. I really wanted him to die as quickly as possible because everyone connected with him would have been a lot better off. The guy even ruins everyone's Christmas in addition to stealing his son's hard-earned money. What a scumbag father; I dont care if he made some crappy album of his son's achievements. He was a lowlife who stunted the advance of his twin sons, who deserved much better than him. I had absolutely no sympathy for him whatsoever. It is his sons I really felt sorry for and the wife we never get to know.