Last Trip

I have a special place for this movie, as my father had a bit part in the film as the bartender playing the glasses while David Arquette dances on the bar. my dad passed away exactly one year ago today from cancer, and I wanted to give him a little shout out on here, as this film is indicative of how he spent the last days of his life. Apparently the filmmakers hung out in the bar my dad worked at while they were filming this, and saw him play the glasses as such, and decided to put in the 20 sec scene on a whim. They also got his last name completely wrong in the credits. It's Engel, not Ingalls. But nonetheless, it's a wonderful and moving film that I would recommend highly.

Terry (David Arquette) is a very sad, lonely man who spends his days watching other people live their lives rather than trying to make one of his own. Rather than do this, he decides that the best thing to do is to commit suicide by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge.

In what he thinks are the final few moments of his life along comes a very confident man, Nick (Brad Hunt), who notices that Terry can't seem to find the nerve to actually go through with it, and persuades him that this kind of suicide would actually be quite painfull, and might not even work, and suggests that he overdose on pills. Nick makes an offer of a jar of sleeping pills that he has at his apartment, in exchange for Terry's watch.

Once the pills have been downed, Terry suddenly has a drastic change of heart and makes Nick take him to the hospital where it is revealed that they were actually vitamins.

Angry, Terry wants to confront Nick to get his watch back and finally tracks him down at the hospital where he finds out that Nick only has a short while to live himself.

The next day, Nick leaves the hospital with a proposal for Terry. If he will help Nick to live out all of his life long fantasies in the few weeks before he dies, Nick will pay him back by killing him.

Determined to go out with a bang, Nick takes Terry on an adventure and teaches him how to live his life to the fullest, including robbing a bank with an unloaded gun and nude bowling with prostitutes (whatever turns you on Nick!!)

It may seem that Nick is doing this all for him, but this film is about not taking life for granted and he is trying to open up a new world for Terry, one where he wouldn't want to die. This is what makes this a fantastic movie with many highs and lows. Mainly, a great story of love, friendship and adventure.

Off course this movie hasn't got the most original story. It has similarities with films like Harold and Maude, Freeway or Mad love. But despite of the fact that it isn't original, it still remains (in my opinion) a beautiful little gem. The music was great and David Arquette, Brad Hunt and Kathryn Erbe (and the others) showed some nice acting. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see this film!

Dream With The Fishes accomplishes what so many small independent films fail to do: it adheres to the reliable simplicity of storyline and character without getting bogged down in gimmickry or its own cleverness.

The casting and performances are perfect - it's a shame that David Arquette has disappeared into his wife's shadow - his performance as self-loathing/suicidal Terry is the perfect foil for Brad Hunt's desperate and free-spirited Nick. Both actors are brilliant in this film yet they've both remained relatively obscure in the years since it's release.

Perhaps Finn Taylor's direction has a lot to do with it. Aside from the performances he wrangles from his actors, Dream With The Fishes is also beautifully filmed, from the shots and camera angles to the lighting and even film stock he chooses for different moments to highlight shifts in character and story.

Add to this a haunting soundtrack (which I can thank for my introduction to Nick Drake) and you have a charming, heart-breaking, inspiring ride that serves both as an entertaining couple of hours viewing and a fine example for aspiring filmmakers.

....Which really isn't saying much, I suppose. But in this film, he actually ACTS, instead of his usual mugging. The premise of this movie intrigued me--a suicidal guy makes a strange pact with a terminally ill guy--and the first half is bizarre and wonderful. In the end, it got to be a bit drawn-out, and the marriage by the bedside was a little too contrived for my taste. But I wondered what happened to Cathy Moriarty and the girl from Rich in Love (the one with the black hair); they must be pretty picky as they don't get many roles. This film was unique enough to hold my attention and those who liked Buffalo 66 will probably eat it up. Another strange performance from character actor J.E. Freeman to boot.