The Godfather of Green Bay

Are you a bitter out of work filmmaker or something? Granted, this movie was not quite as good as people on IMDb.com suggest, but you make it sound like its completely pointless - it's not.

Pete Shawba is a first time director and this story has been stated as being autobiographical. The film was in fact shot in Marinette, Wisconsin for less than a million dollars, and as a filmmaker, I thought many things were impressive, not extraordinary, not bad.

One of the things you have to consider when you make a low budget movie is that you will have many unknown or first time actors appearing in the movie either underperforming, overperforming, or surprise you and hit it right on. The Godfather of Green Bay did that.

The biases you're referring to are people from Marinette who recognized many of the locations (I'm from Marinette as well but I try to remain on neutral ground.) There were some things that I did not like: the overuse of the Macarena, the emphasis of stereotypes and the overall low budget feel when the bartender announces that Rocktoberfest has begun- it seems as if this event only takes place in a small bar, where a field full of campers, stages, and drunk Wisconsinites would be more appropriate. Instead we get the later, which if you're like me (An indie filmmaker), the lack of depth is forgivable.

As for Lauren Holly and other name actors appearing in the film, they all performed well and kudos for appearing in a film that obvious isn't mainstream and paying for a second home in Hollywood.

Last word: This movie, for the first time in movie history, shows Northeastern Wisconsin in bloom of fall, capturing the beauty of the tree along the highways near Marinette. I was please to recognize many locations (Mickey Lu's and Trade Winds in Marinette, the playground on the Menominee, MI Marina with the library in the background. I loved seeing Wisconsin on film and I was pleased to see that someone other than myself has made a movie in Marinette.

5 out of 10.

For a low budget movie, this movie was more then I expected. It had a good plot line and most of the character relationships were believable. I did have a problem with the relationship between the main character and his old school teacher. The age difference did not seem believable. It was well shot and did not look too "low budget". There were many different locations and even some aerial shots. It kept my attention with quite a lot of good comedy. Some of the improvisation from the secondary cast is great. Keep an eye on the character of "Ratboy", he kept me laughing through most of the movie. Drama, suspense, comedy, farce, romance, the movie has it all. If you get a chance to see it in the theatre or on video, check it out. If you are from Wisconsin or Upper Michigan, this movie should not be missed.

I just saw the premiere of this movie in my hometown of Marinette, Wisconsin where the movie was filmed. The movie did a wonderful job of depicting the people, the scenery, and the whole Wisconsin vibe. The characters in this movie were well acted, including lead roles by Pete Schwaba and Lance Barber. Audiences will truly appreciate Big Jake and Rat Boy, because everyone knows someone like these two characters. My favorite character in the film was played by Thomas Lennon (Reno 911, The State), every time he was on screen he brought a giggle or smile to my face, great casting here.

This movie should be enjoyed by all. It offers a nice escape and a peek inside small town life through the eyes of some big city guys.

Excellent cast, great laughs, and an all around good time!

I'll never forget the day my wife and I took our nephew to see "The Godfather of Green Bay." How can we ever repay the webmaster at IMDb? More on that later.

Rarely have I been so excited to see a movie - here is the back-story… While surfing IMDb for local movies & times this past Saturday, my wife stumbled upon a link to "The Godfather" which was apparently showing at a theater some 40 miles from our home. "Hey look!" my wife said to me, " 'The Godfather' is playing!" Although we found it a bit strange that this 1970's classic was showing locally, my wife clicked on the IMDb link to make sure it was the movie we have both come to adore as one of the greatest movies ever made. Wow! The IMDb link brought up the 1972 Coppola classic - we reasoned that perhaps a re-release was in conjunction with the new Godfather video game. Whatever the reason, we soon changed our dinner plans for the evening and called our nephew who attends a local college to inform him to drop everything… "The Godfather" is playing.

After driving to our nephew's dorm then to the theater, an hour trip one way, my actual quote to my 18 year old movie loving nephew was, "I envy the pleasure you will have seeing this movie for the first time." So, let's see… how can I accurately portray our surprise when "The Godfather of Green Bay" began. I guess it was like the surprise Sonny Corleone felt when he was stuck at the toll booth. For, like Sonny, our evening had been killed. During a cavalcade of under our breath cursing, we realized the mistake - the IMDb web-crew had mistakenly linked the local showing of "The Godfather of Green Bay" to "The Godfather".

Funny thing - for all we know, "The Godfather of Green Bay" may be the greatest comedy of all-time. But since we were so extremely mad at the IMDb web-geeks and their error, and because we were earlier so jazzed to see "The Godfather" there was no way we could sit through even the first few minutes to find out. So, being disappointed beyond words, and with our popcorn tub barely dented, we left. Anyhow, as indicated, we have the IMDb web-master to thank for our botched evening. Which brings me back to my original question…How can we ever repay him? I'll make him an offer he…well… you know.

I recently saw this movie at the Saugatuck Film festival and loved it. It nicely captures small-town Wisconsin's unique charm, beautiful scenery and quirky characters, while also providing hilarious insight into the struggles of up-and-coming comedians. At times, I laughed so hard I was in tears! Tony Goldwyn is great as the Jaker, Lauren Holly is beautiful in the role of Molly, and Pete Schwaba is the perfect Joe to Lance Barber's hilarious Kenny. I also loved the fact that the score was done by Kurt Newman of the Bodeans, an awesome Wisconsin band. I can't wait to see this movie in theaters soon, and I hope that Pete Schwaba is working on his next creation - I'll be anxiously awaiting it.