Stevie D

A watchable vanity project for the writer, director, lead actor but whether it leads to anything more substantial is highly debatable, since the characters were mostly cliches, the situations were full of 'just happens to' moments, like a commercial actor on tv just happens to look exactly like a spoiled trust fund kid who just happens to be in an unfortunate accident, and the actor just happens to be paired with a gangster type gumba who just happens to want to be an actor so they can have a bond that becomes a plot point... on and on. His skill at playing two diametrically opposed characters that he himself created should have been more pronounced, but he cant get beyond the one dimensional limitations he wrote for them. An EXTREMELY nice, thoughtful, helpful, caring guy who seriously, not sarcastically, uses a word like 'lovely' when speaking to a women vs an EXTREMELY obnoxious, narcissistic spoiled brat who belittles everyone around him and tows bikini babes around like they are his pets. That being said, he is watchable and likable as the nice guy and is assured some nice lifetime movie channel (is that still on?) cheesy romantic comedies in the near future.

My aunt and me decided to get this movie on iTunes because it sounded fun. She has been going through a hard time and wanted to just chill out and relax. I don't think we were expected to be so entertained by such a sweet movie. I don't usually write reviews but I see A LOT of movies and this one really hits the spot. It was funny but also had great heart. The guy who plays the lead is very handsome and I totally believed him in both roles. There are a TON of supporting characters you WILL recognize from other movies and TV shows. Hal Linden from Barney Miller is in it and what a treat it is to see him. My aunt said she had a major crush on him back in the day. The lead girl is good in the movie but something about her makes her seem stuck up. I don't know, maybe she was just acting. I would totally recommend this movie to anyone who was looking for something fun and entertaining. We both really enjoyed it.

As Rom Coms go, it fit the bill. The plot was interesting and the acting was good enough, but not excellent, especially the leads. Torrey DeVitto is lovely and I liked her character, though I didn't buy her change of opinions about Chris Cordone's character. He was likable as the two main characters, but I don't see how anyone could possibly mistake their totally different personalities. John Aprea and Kevin Chapman were both very good as the boss and his henchman. I would agree that it was better than most of the low budget films in this genre today. If you have a couple of hours that you don't know what to do with, you could do worse.

I really enjoyed this film. The relationships are all really thoughtful, even the hit men have loads of personality and a natural and funny rhythm with their banter. They provide a lot of genuine comic relief, and they are almost like watching a funny old married couple. I also really enjoyed the connection between Michael (the fake Stevie) and Lenny (played by the fabulous Kevin Chapman). It was fun to watch Lenny go from thinking "we're doing this poor sap a favor" if the fake Stevie (Michael) gets bumped off in their ruse...to actually putting a guard on him because he wants to protect him from getting hurt. Could it have been edited a little tighter? Sure! But given that it's a low budget film, and I've seen so many of those, I think Chris Cordone did a lovely job, and it's obvious he squeezed every bit of substance out of that budget that he could...especially with all the great casting. I loved seeing John Aprea do his thing, better than anyone else. Such a natural. And I also really enjoyed seeing the great Hal Linden! He is a treasure. Torrey DeVito is beautiful and does a nice turn as Daria. Even the characters that have less than 5 minutes of screen time make the most of what they've got and bring something engaging to the film. I think it's a refreshing and fun film, in a sea of remakes and big budget boring movies. I like movies with characters I can actually care about it...and Steve D. delivers.

Based on some of the reviews that I have read, I didn't expect this movie to be all that good but I was gladly wrong. Every actor in this film did an amazing job bringing their characters to life which is something that is rare during films these days there's always that one actor that just doesn't get it quite right, but I loved all the performances. I really loved the romance between "Stevie" and Daria I personally love Torrey DeVitto which was why I watched this movie and I think she and Chris did an amazing job chemistry wise. The hit-man were a great add for the comedic aspect of the movie, you will possibly find yourself chuckling at their antics. Jumping back a little, I LOVED how the movie started with the black screen and someone telling the audience that Stevie is dead, that really drew me in and made me pity the character more and more throughout the film. I also loved near the end where everything was coming to be making you really sit at the edge of your seat.

The only thing that I do agree with from the critics is the length. I do think it was a tad bit long for the plot to not be so complex, but with that being said every scene flowed together nicely, there wasn't anything that looked out of order or out of place.

All in all I thought that this was a great film to watch, it's in the mix of a romcom but not quite haha. 7/10 Stars