Alright folks, Sean Archer is back. This time though he's taking us on a look at an indie script and film project called GOODBYE SUNRISE. Sounds intriguing... we'll have to keep at least one or two eyes on it. Here ya go..
Welcome, Indie fans to my ramblings in the world of independent film. Last week, I promised you some more reviews, and I'm ready with another. I was hoping to check out 'The Buena Vista Social Club' last Sunday, but some things came up and I didn't make it. But, the delay did give me time to finish up a terrific little script called 'Goodbye Sunrise'.
I believe this film has just finished shooting, and I have no idea when it will be coming out, but I was able to track down the cast and crew's names. This film is being produced by Lorena David and Mark Roberts of Kingsize Entertainment. The rest of the crew are pretty much unknowns except for LuEllyn Harper Thomas, the costume designer, who won an Emmy for her work on the now defunct Newsradio(a travesty that it was canceled and crap like Suddenly Susan and Veronica's Closet are still running. Someone must have spiked the OJ the Peacock's last brainstorming session).
The script for 'Goodbye Sunrise' was written by Michael Addis and Tony Urban. Addis also directs, and he did a pretty cool little short called 'The Car Thief' a few years back. I've heard he's also done commercials and music videos, but I don't know which ones.
The general story is about a white trash mother that helps her son commit crimes in order to help him pay for his college tuition. It's very reminiscent of the Coen's work, and seems to fall in between 'Fargo'(it's funnier than Fargo)and 'Raising Arizona'(more mainstream the RA', but it isn't as good as either, not that thats a bad thing, as those films were almost genius, but I feel compelled to ad that disclaimer because I know someone in Talkback would tear me a new one if I didn't.
The cast includes Sean Young, Tony Deman(Fargo), Jacob Tierney(This is My Father) a riveting film), William Devane, Jason London, Jaime Pressly(that Jerry Springer movie), M. Emmet Walsh, and a few other folks who you probably don't know. Now. if you don't want spoilers, don't read any further. Just know that this should be a really cool flick if the actors can carry it off. I'd give it a solid 4 of 5.
Begin spoilers
Okay, so for anyone who's still with me, I'll give you a pretty detailed review of the script. It begins with two teenagers, Mike(Denman)and Lenny(Tierney)who live in your typical dull small town. So, on a hot summer day they decide to buy some near beer, only to discover that it's illegal to purchase immitation alcohol products if you're underage. Then the clerk calls them 'trailer trash' thus invoking their ire and they decide to rob the store. Mike, the more intelligent of the two, has second thoughts but is explosive loving best friend won't be turned down and what would have been a simple case of shoplifting ends up with arson, assault, and a few other crimes.
Now, the boys are in court in front of Judge Pike(Walsh)and that when we first meet Linda Bronco(Young). She's a sexy nurse who's just been fired from the retirement home, and she arranges for the boys to be released into her custody until trial. After a stern reprimand, and after their father/husband leaves them broke, she goes to the bar to drown her troubles. At the bar, she meets Brian Ross(London)and decides he might be good for a little fun. While she and Brian are sizing each other up, Lenny convinces Mike that the only way out of their trouble is to burglarize the neighbors, and use the money to pay for a good lawyer(Lenny's grandfather Ron Lake(Devane)who will keep their record clean. Needless to say, the burglary ends badly with a firecracker and a dog and well, you'd just have to read it. But, Linda saves the day, and keeps the boys from getting caught.
During their second reprimand of the day, Lenny manages to give his ex-con grandpa a chance. So, the next day they venture to 'Ron Lake's Land O'Law' where they(including Brian) meet Ron and his new wife, the 1/3 his age Sandy Lake(Pressly). There we find out that Brian and Sandy used to be lovers, ron shoves Brian's face into a tray of cinamon rolls, and later they make up and go for waffles. While at the waffle house, Ron explains that they can pay off his legal fees and pay for young Mike's tuiton if they just rob the owner of the local old age home(who's stealing from his patints'It's a Robin Hood sorta thing). Linda is reluctant, but realizes that it's the only way for her gifted some to climb out of the economical level of the working poor and make a nice, tidy middle class life for himself.
That takes it up to the end of the first act, and I don't want to give away the rest, so I'll just say that it involves grease traps, high speed motor home chases, grand theft, attempted murder, and a hilarious line about Ron drinking an 'aspirin shake' to 'keep the blood thin'.
/End of spoilers
So, as I said before, I'd give this a solid four, of the actors can pull off their roles. This is a character driven script, and while there are some good physical comedy scenes(the attemtped murder and the trailer chase)alot of this is funny because of the writing. Urban and Addis wrote some rolling on the floor lines, and while this deals with the poorer section of our economical population, the script never writes down to anyone. There aren't any fart jokes or gross out humor, so that makes it different from just about everything else which came out this summer. The role of Linda is fabulous, the best comedic role for a forty-something woman I've read in quite some time.
There are, of course some negatives. The role of Sandy feels underwritten, so we'll really see if Pressly has any acting chops because she's going to have to make this character more than just another ice queen. Judge Pike also doesn't have much to do, and I'm surprised they got someone of Walsh's stature for the part. Maybe it's been beefed up some since my draft though. I'm also a little worried about the boys, and whether the actors will be good enough. Tierney was good in 'This is My Father', but nothing to get excited about. Denman's only had small parts before, and this is a leading role, an he do it? But, my biggest concern is Sean Young. She can do drama, as we've seen in 'No Way Out', but she really was waaaaaaaay to over the top in 'Ace Ventura'. I'm wondering if she can do comedy, as we all know it's more difficult than drama. The one thing which might benefit her in this film, is that the role of Linda is written in a serious manner, and while she cracks a one-liner or two, she's more deadpan and the humor comes from the situations. I hope she can do it, but I'm not counting any chickens.
I know that I can't wait to see this flick, and I hope someone loves it enough to give it a wide release. If I had any real power, I'd be hounding Universal to get their collective heads out of their collective asses and buy this puppy, but they just aren't that smart. I'm hoping for Miramax to come through again, as they're the only studio which seems to care about the world of Indie's these days.
Oh, in a 'too weird to be true' coincidence, a young lady named Jenny Schotz emailed me after my MSTF review and said she lives close to where 'Goodbye Sunrise' was shooting. She sent along some pictures that she took on the set, including the aforementioned 'Land O' Law' set. She has a website, but hopefully these links will work and you can some of the cast.
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Hope you enjoyed the review. Again, I'm going to keep you up to date in the world of Indie's and will try to take in Wenders' 'The Buena Vista Social Club' this weekend.
Email me if you've seen any cool Indies lately!
