God, Sex & Apple Pie

It's not a bad movie, but there's nothing really engrossing about it.

Made in 1998, but it has a feel of a late 80s, early 90s movie, and maybe it's more of a movie for the generation before mine.

A few long and somewhat unnecessary montages take away from the story, and the individual character problems seemed to be wrapped up a bit too neatly at the end.

For me it just felt a bit lacking, in either story or in comedy. And a few scenes where you can hear the characters giving speeches about the writer/director's view on society, which is way too common in the independent film world.

The most disappointing thing is that is really just one step away from being something special. Maybe the script just needed one more rewrite.

You can't go wrong with God. You can't go wrong with sex. You most certainly can't go wrong with apple pie. And the film (unlike many film festival screenings I've seen) lives up to the title. A weekend reunion forces childhood friends (now turning thirty) to examine the paths they have chosen. Beautifully shot, a monster twist and surprisingly well acted. No names, just talent. Keep your eye on the guitar player and the mailman. I liked them a whole lot. God, Sex & Apple Pie, with or without a scoop of vanilla, is a

> The film certainly bows in the direction of "The Big Chill" and "Same Time, > Next Year," but without major infidelity or a corpse. The writer has done > some nice things with the characters, so that you can see some nuances in > them that would offset the obvious stereotyping, i.e., the sensitive artist, > the long-suffering, but unknowing spouse, the weakling hunk, the loser, > etc. > > It has a sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously, but invites > you to think about situational ethics and solutions. And thankfully they > treat the "postal employee" as a person!

That this movie was derivative is the least of it's problems. It could be more aptly entitled: "Dear God, Non-erotic Sex, and No Pie for You Tonight." It's contrived, pretentious, and vapid. Not even the sex was sensual.

Writing 10 lines about this flick is a questionable expenditure of time, but here goes....if only to save you from renting it. The characterizations of the 30 something generation do it a great disservice. I know many 30 somethings, butI don't know people like this. I hope it's not just my luck. If I found myself at this party for the weekend I'd have to jump in my car and find the fastest way out. There is no comparison to the films from which this flick was derived. There are similarities in the structure of it to Big Chill, but that's where the comparison ends.

Acting was poor, writing was worse, music intolerable. Wait...one redeeming quality...the setting was lovely.

Great story, but poor acting or directing (and possibly both) left me feeling somewhat disappointed. While I still enjoyed the film, I just felt delivery of the lines was too stiff and looked at times forced. The cast was very likable, but I attribute that to the writer and not their performances. I would love to see this movie made with a better cast and/or director.