Just Like Old Times..."Back In The Day"

Back in the Day (2014)

Rated R

Starring Michael Rosenbaum, Morena Baccarin, Nick Swardson, Harland Williams, Isaiah Mustafa, Kristoffer Polaha, Jay R. Ferguson,

Written and Directed by Michael Rosenbaum

The Story:

Jim (Rosenbaum) is an actor who left home to become successful out in California. He's doing okay, but not getting the roles he wants. Depressed, he heads back home to Michigan for their upcoming class reunion. He reunites with his best friends (Mustafa, Williams & Polaha) and finds the one that got away (Baccarin). He finds out she's finally engaged after all these years... to his arch nemesis (Ferguson). Cue the hijinks...

Rosenbaum crafts a film that is equal parts raunchy R rated comedy mixed with a romantic comedy.

It's a tough act to balance, but he does balance it fairly well, and the cast is game for everything he throws at them.

Naturally, the story behind the story is a chance for him to reunite with his former love, and the girl that he's never gotten over.

And it appears he might be in luck because she has not moved on after all these years, but with an impending marriage just days away, Jim's got a very limited window of opportunity to win her back.

Meanwhile, his friends are all married now, and Jim isn't the best influence on them.

Jim's got some decisions to make.  Clearly you can go home again, but then what?

Final Grade: C+

A Little Charm Is Found "Where Hope Grows"

Where Hope Grows (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Kristoffer Polaha, David DeSanctis, McKaley Miller, Brooke Burns, William Zabka, Danica McKellar,

Written and Directed by Chris Dowling

The Story:

Mitch (Polaha) is a former ballplayer raising a teenage daughter (Miller) and watching his world hit rock bottom through the bottom of a bottle. Then one day he meets a young grocery clerk named Produce (DeSanctis) and his world is changed. Produce has Down Syndrome, but Mitch begins to realize that he's not that different after all, and slowly, he begins to claw his way back to a better life.

Originally the film was to be called Produce, but they opted to change the title before release. 

The big news coming off this film was it was to star DeSanctis, who actually has Down Syndrome to play someone with Down Syndrome.  That's right, no real actor faking the part, they were going to get the real deal. And for his first starring role, you'd assume that he's been doing this forever.

This movie though, drove me nuts as I watched it.

I wanted to really, really like it.

However, much of the plot, and some situations the cast finds themselves in seemed quite contrived for the sake of getting from point A to point B and they weren't exactly necessary.

The entire story with Mitch's friend Milton (Zabka) is so forced, it felt like much of the movie was crammed in because they forgot where they were going with the story.  His wife (McKellar) having an affair? Seems like a big stretch, but darn it, we've got to tip the dominoes.

The direction by Dowling also felt very amateurish in many spots. The height difference between the two leads is obvious, so if you're having a two shot, you should either pull back and get them both in frame or set up the actors differently. Panning and barely getting a head of your actor in frame just screams "budget film"!

I was hoping for more, so I'll average out the performance from a great cast who tried to make the most of what they were given by a writer/director who shows promise but needs to tighten things up a bit.

Final Grade: C+