I was excited to see this movie. The story idea, while not the most original, at least seemed fun and heartwarming and uplifting. It's your old fashioned "hey, let's put on a show" kind of story. And being from Boston, I looked forward to recognizing the local scenery. That said, the dialog and acting were some of the worst I've ever seen, even in an indie flick. It does have its good moments, but there were scenes where I was cringing--actually involuntarily cringing--at what was happening. Like the scene when the protagonist wanted to give up, and his brother gives him a pep talk.
Some of the acting is pretty good. The funeral director guy was probably the most believable, but I couldn't really understand why his character was even in the movie.
The plotting and pacing were a little sloppy, too. There's a lot of "telling," rather than "showing." The protagonist presumably has no higher education, and one day he decides he wants to write a play, with no idea how. He says he got a book at the library. The screen goes black and says "10 months later" and then...presto, he has a play. Wait, what? And there were lots of coincidences that were just silly. The only date they could hold the play is the first anniversary of a death in the family. The cousin's wife goes into labor the day of the play. And then, in the final scene, the wife is offered a new job, the fat guy and the slutty girl develop a serious relationship, the father and son reconcile, and probably a couple of other things I'm forgetting.
Don't get me wrong. If you have an hour and a half to kill, you'll probably be reasonably entertained by this movie. It's like watching a community theater play on the big screen.
Some of the acting is pretty good. The funeral director guy was probably the most believable, but I couldn't really understand why his character was even in the movie.
The plotting and pacing were a little sloppy, too. There's a lot of "telling," rather than "showing." The protagonist presumably has no higher education, and one day he decides he wants to write a play, with no idea how. He says he got a book at the library. The screen goes black and says "10 months later" and then...presto, he has a play. Wait, what? And there were lots of coincidences that were just silly. The only date they could hold the play is the first anniversary of a death in the family. The cousin's wife goes into labor the day of the play. And then, in the final scene, the wife is offered a new job, the fat guy and the slutty girl develop a serious relationship, the father and son reconcile, and probably a couple of other things I'm forgetting.
Don't get me wrong. If you have an hour and a half to kill, you'll probably be reasonably entertained by this movie. It's like watching a community theater play on the big screen.