So this Summer movie season is fully upon us as we get yet another example of a staple of the warmer months, mainly the other “s” word, the sequel. Sure we expect it with the big “franchise” flicks like last weekend’s MCU blockbuster. However, this one expands on a rather modest “niche” comedy that found a very receptive audience five years ago. They are probably eager to revisit their old friends, but the story needs a “hook” to increase that fan base (and to get them back into the multiplex, rather than wait for the streaming date). For this, the producers harkened back to sequel ideas of the past in which the familiar face would be in new locations (think GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN or TARZAN GOES TO INDIA). Hey, it works for the more recent series of THE TRIP flicks. And like that comic duo, this quartet is packing their bags in BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER.
After a brief “flash-forward” (just a hint of things to come), we’re in the US of A catching up with that “literary society”. And like many of us, they had to talk books online during the pandemic and struggle with “group chat” technology. And happily, they all survived that grim time. Vivian (Jane Fonda) is still heating things up with her old flame Arthur (Don Johnson). Diane (Diane Keaton) is happy in Scottsdale, AZ with airline pilot/beau Mitchell (Andy Garcia). Sharon (Candice Bergen) has pretty much retired from the bench, only donning her robes to officiate weddings before she’s back home surfing online dating sites and tending to her cat Ginsberger. The biggest changes have happened to Carol (Mary Steenburgen), whose restaurant did not survive the “lockdown”. But that gave her more time to tend to her now-retired hubby Bruce (Craig T. Nelson), who just had heart surgery. Finally, it’s time to meet in the flesh. After the hugs and before the wine, Vivian stuns them with her engagement ring. During the “big buzz”, Carol pulls out an old diary and reminds them of the “girls’ trip” that never was. Well, since the travel bans are lifted, why not take a big pre-wedding trek to Italy? When things begin to “line up”, the quartet boards a jet for Europe. They have a blast, sampling the cuisine, shopping, and meeting new friends (naturally Sharon “hooks up’ with a silver fox) and encountering old pals (Carol reconnects with her cooking school heartthrob), and getting into wacky and often naughty adventures. But nothing in their side trips to Rome and Venice can match the big stunner that awaits them in their final destination, Tuscany. This makes for a most unforgettable getaway for them all.
Though it may sound a bit cliched, it feels as though only a few months have passed since the first story that united these terrific veteran screen (small and big) actresses. Perhaps the busiest of the four, at least this year as it’s her third release, is Fonda who shows us more of Vivian’s (I prefer her nickname “Slim”) vulnerable, even girlish side. Then she was the brusk “go-go” businesswoman with no time for romance. Now she’s taking the time to enjoy a relationship beyond her “gal-pals”. Still, Fonda’s best in those “no-filter” moments as she revels in shocking and surprising folks with her candid commentary. Keaton as Diane is also “letting her hair down’ as she doesn’t have to deal with her “hovering” daughters this time and becomes the sometimes frazzled (those computer “filters”) voice of sanity for the group. And without her irksome ex to annoy her this time, Bergen’s Candice really becomes the most daring of them, “putting herself out there” in this “unknown territory” (the locale and her retired lifestyle). Stenburgen’s Carol almost bubbles over with the joy of discovery even as she tries to keep a long-distance “spy-eye” on her recovering longtime mate. Oh, and the fellas from the last outing are just as charming as they “hold down the homefront”. Johnson is the wistfully romantic and suave Arthur, while Garcia pours on the charisma as the grizzled laid-back and ever-supportive Mitchell. And Nelson is not the butt of the jokes this time, as he has an easier time moving past his health scare than his missus. Oh, and there are a couple of international “prospects’ for the judge in Hugh Quarshie as the dapper, sophisticated Ousmane and Giancarlo Giannini as the flustered “policia” captain who butts heads with Sharon while still hoping that she’ll save him a dance sometime.
Yes, the location photography is stunning making for a great travelogue (matched with peppy local variations of beloved pop tunes), but it’s the chemistry of the quartet that keeps us chugging through the familiar foreign missteps and zany bits of miscommunication and occasional slapstick. Bill Holderman returns as the director and co-screenwriter with Erin Simms, this time cutting back on the stunned reaction shots of bystanders reacting to the main characters’ intimate outbursts (luckily) and focusing more on their warm friendship since they’re away from their usual “turf” and male partners. Sure, it often feels like two or three sitcom half-hours stitched together (and you may think of the dynamic of TV’s “GG”), but these seasoned “pros” can sell just about anything, even the ludicrous reunion “climax’ of Carol and her college “crush”. This especially goes for the big final moments, which you can see coming over the rolling hills of Rome. My biggest problem with this bit of fluff was the often harsh makeup work. I know these aren’t “spring chickens” but the overuse of cheek rouge was distractingly harsh (and there was a touch of “soft focus” used on some of the leads, but it didn’t veer into “Lucy as MAME” extremes). There are a few “cringy” moments, but there are worse ways to top off a Mother’s Day brunch (or a pre-dinner) than a trek to check in with the women of the BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER.
2 Out of 4
BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER opens in theatres everywhere on Friday, May 12, 2023
The highly anticipated sequel follows our four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.
Directed by Bill Holderman, Focus Features will release BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER Nationwide In-Theaters on Friday, May 12th.
Tickets are now on sale for #BookClub: The Next Chapter, starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen!
The St. Louis advance screening is on Thursday, April 27, 7pm at the Hi Pointe. Winners chosen/notified on Tuesday, April 25th.
The screening will be filled on a first come first served basis, so we encourage you to arrive early. Seats will not be guaranteed. Rated PG-13 for some strong language and suggestive material.
Focus Features’ BOOK CLUB 2 – THE NEXT CHAPTER, a sequel to the wildly successful and beloved 2018 comedy BOOK CLUB, is set for a wide release on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2023. Focus Features will distribute the film in the U.S. Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally. Endeavor Content financed and produced the film.
The film is written by Bill Holderman and Erin Simms, with Holderman returning as Director. The duo will also serve as producers. Executive Producers are Brad Weston, Trish Hofmann, Enzo Sisti and Andrew Duncan.
The highly anticipated sequel, starring returning icons Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen alongside Andy Garcia, Don Johnson, and Craig T. Nelson, Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie and Vincent Riotta, follows our four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.
The sequels’ predecessor, BOOK CLUB, earned an impressive $68 million domestically from a $13.5 million opening weekend and $104 million worldwide.
The new comedy BOOK CLUB, opening May 18, focuses on something that has long been a favorite of women of all ages – the book club. But this comedy has something extra to offer: four legendary stars with long and storied careers. Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen have garnered enough awards and nominations, including Oscars, and have demonstrated enough star staying-power on the big screen and the small one to qualify as bonafide Hollywood legends. Yet each woman has carved out her own unique path to that title.
They have some things in common, these legendary women. Each is multi-talented, playing both drama and comedy while working with an array of big-name directors and actors. As in any long career, each has had their hits and misses, but the hits have really been stand-outs. Defying the usual rules of Hollywood, each is still a star and still beautiful, even though over the age of 65. They are all fairly tall, ranging from Fonda and Steenburgen at 5’8″ to Keaton at 5’6 1/2″. Each woman also has added producer, author, or musician to their career accomplishments and each of them has passionately pursued interests and causes beyond their acting careers.
In honor of these worthy women, and with a nod to Mother’s Day, We Are Movie Geeks is offering a brief retrospective on their careers.
Jane Fonda has recently reportedly said that her new ensemble comedy BOOK CLUB is the most fun she has had making a movie. With her long career, that is saying something but that sentiment probably reflects the sterling cast of women she worked with on this film.
On screen and off, Jane Fonda often has been a controversial figure, often outspoken, known for her political activism, and for her marriage to media mogul Ted Turner.
Born Jane Seymour Fonda in New York City in December 1937, the beautiful daughter of movie star Henry Fonda and socialite Frances Ford Seymour Brokaw had no problem breaking into movies but it takes more than a famous name to have the kind of long, stellar career Jane Fonda has had. Initially she had little interest in following her father’s profession but that changed after she appeared in a community theater production with her father, and then met Lee Strasberg and joined the Actors’ Studio. Her first film was TALL STORY (1960) and then she was cast as a fresh face beauty in a string of romantic films.
Fonda shattered that girl-next-door image when she starred as the barely-clad title character in BARBARELLA, director (and then husband) Roger Vadim’s sexy, sci-fi spoof. The film sparked controversy but it also changed Fonda’s screen image, perhaps opening the door to more serious, edgy dramatic roles. She followed it up with an Oscar-nominated performance in the dark Depression-era drama THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON”T THEY? (1969) and her Oscar-winning performance as a high-priced call girl in the thriller KLUTE (1971).
Fonda also won an Oscar for COMING HOME (1978), about a returning disabled Vietnam War veteran, and more Oscar nominations for JULIA (1977), THE CHINA SYNDROME (1979), THE MORNING AFTER (1986) and ON GOLDEN POND (1981), in which she appeared with her father Henry for the only time.
Fonda’s career has not been just about drama. She has plenty of comedies on her resume, including the quirky Western romp CAT BALLOU (1965), FUN WITH DICK AND JANE (1977), and the hit NINE TO FIVE (1980).
In the 1980s, Fonda branched out from appearing in films, and released a wildly successful series of exercise videos and books, helping spark the exercise craze. She took a break from acting from 1990 to 2005, but returned to star in MONSTER-IN-LAW (2005) with Jennifer Lopez.
In recent years, Fonda has appeared in several films, sometimes in small but pivotal film roles, notably as the movie star diva in YOUTH (2015). She also starred in a Netflix series, GRACE AND FRANKIE, with Lilly Tomlin.
Fonda has re-defined herself over and over during her long career, keeping her on top and always a star.
Diane Keaton first captured the hearts of audiences with her quirky character in Woody Allen’s comedy ANNIE HALL (1977), where her eccentric clothing style sparked a fashion trend and her performance won her an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Writer/director Woody Allen had written the role specifically for her, and given the character her family nickname, Annie, and the star’s original last name.
Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles, California, in January 1946, Diane Keaton took her mother’s maiden name for her stage name because the Actors Guild already had a Diane Hall. She studied acting at college in California but left early to move to New York and work on the stage.
ANNIE HALL might have made her a big star but it was hardly the first hit film she had appeared in. While her first film was LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS (1970), she appeared in the Oscar-winning THE GODFATHER (1972) and THE GODFATHER, PART II (1974), where she played Kay Adams, Michael Corleone’s girlfriend, then wife. She also appeared in Woody Allen’s early hit comedies PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM (1972), SLEEPER (1973), and LOVE AND DEATH (1975).
Eager not to be typecast as the quirky character she played in ANNIE HALL, Keaton followed it up with one of her darkest dramatic parts in LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR (1977), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. She received Oscar nominations for her work in Warren Beatty’s historic epic REDS (1981), as journalist Louise Bryant, and for MARVIN’S ROOM (1996).
Keaton was taken on a variety of roles, both dramatic and comedic. She appeared in a total of eight of Woody Allen’s films, including MANHATTAN (1979), RADIO DAYS (1987) and MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993). She returned to the role of Kay Adams Corleone in THE GODFATHER, PART III (1990) but then appeared in the comedy BABY BOOM (1987), which echoed a story line from Candice Bergen’s MURPHY BROWN TV show. Keaton played Steve Martin’s wife in the hit comedy re-make FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1991) and its sequel FATHER OF THE BRIDE, PART II (1995).
Keaton had one of her biggest comedy hits with SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (2003) opposite Jack Nicholson, for which she was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe. She has continued to work in films, while also publishing work as an author, editor and photographer. She also has an AFI Life Achievement Award.
Diane Keaton has never lost her quirky charm and irresistible likability (nor her signature fashion sense), making her a joy to watch no matter what the role.
Mary Steenburgen won an Oscar for her supporting role in the comedy MELVIN AND HOWARD. But her best known role maybe in the sci-fi romantic tale TIME AFTER TIME, where she co-starred with her future first husband Malcolm McDowell, who played a time-traveling, mystery-solving H.G. Wells.
Now happily married to Ted Danson, the star began life as Mary Nell Steenburgen in Newport, Arkansas in February 1953. Steenburgen studied acting at Hendrix College but left early on the recommendation of her acting teacher to pursue her career in New York. She was “discovered” by Jack Nicholson, who cast her in his wild and woolly Western GOIN’ SOUTH (1978) for her first movie role.
Steenburgen has played a mix of dramatic and comedic roles. She impressed audiences with her dramatic prowess playing a strong-willed mother in RAGTIME (1981), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. Her varied career has included films such as the drama CROSS CREEK (1983) in which she played the author of the children’s classic “The Yearling,” the comedy PARENTHOOD (1989), sequel BACK TO THE FUTURE, PART III (1990), Oscar-winning drama PHILADELPHIA (1993), comedy WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (1993) with Johnny Depp and a young Leonardo DiCaprio, Oliver Stone’s NIXON (1995), the Will Ferrell comedy ELF (2003), and Oscar-winning THE HELP (2011). It is hard to imagine a more varied collection of films. Steenburgen has also appeared on TV, often with husband Ted Danson, in shows such as CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM.
Apart from her acting career, Steenburgen is active in humanitarian causes and is a supporter of the arts. Here’s another bit of trivia: she has dabbled in a musical career, as has Diane Keaton. Want to know some more trivia about Mary Steenburgen? She is close friends with Hillary Clinton, since the days when Clinton was the First Lady of Arkansas, the state where Steenburgen was born.
Still exuding charm and talent, Steenburgen continues to beguile audiences.
Want to know some trivia about Candice Bergen? She once went on a date with Donald Trump, when they both were college-aged. They didn’t hit it off.
To many fans, Candice Bergen will always be the outspoken Murphy Brown, the character she played in the long-running, ground-breaking TV show, but Bergen has also carved out a strong career playing comedy and drama on the big and small screens.
Like Fonda, she had a famous father (ventriloquist Edgar Bergen) and stunning good looks, which likely helped open doors in Hollywood but again she did the work to become and stay a star. Born in Los Angeles in May 1946, Bergen was raised around Hollywood glamour. She made her debut on radio at age six on her father’s show and appeared on Groucho Marx’s “You Bet Your Life” TV game show at age 12. But she also attended finishing school in Switzerland.
With her natural elegance, she worked as a model and initially seemed destined to be cast in the kind of “cool blonde” roles Grace Kelly was known for, but her feisty, feminist bent emerged early. Her first film was Sidney Lumet’s THE GROUP (1966), in which she played a lesbian Vassar-type student, and she appeared in war drama THE SAND PEBBLES (1966) with Steve McQueen. She again played a college student in the X-rated CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1971) but then played a demure American lady kidnapped by a Moroccan sheikh (played by Sean Connery) in the historical adventure film THE WIND AND THE LION (1975).
Her career picked up steam in the late 1970s with the dramedy STARTING OVER (1979), which won her an Oscar nomination. In a small but memorable role, Bergen played the famous pioneering woman photographer Margaret Bourke-White in the Oscar-winning GANDHI (1982).
She married French director Louis Malle, 14 years her senior, in 1980 and hit it big in TV with MURPHY BROWN in 1988. She was also the first female host of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. As tough, sharp-tongued TV anchor Murphy Brown, Bergen won five Emmys and two Golden Globes over ten seasons. There probably would have been more but Bergen started declining the nominations after winning five.
She took a break from TV and movies with the illness and death of husband Louis Malle in the mid-90s, but returned in 2000 with the comedy hit MISS CONGENIALITY. Other films followed, such as SEX AND THE CITY (2008), RULES DON’T APPLY (2016), and THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (2017). She returned to TV in 2005 as a prickly lawyer in BOSTON LEGAL, which garnered her another Emmy.
From early in her career, Bergen has also pursued a passion for photography and photojournalism, with works published in Life, Esquire and Playboy magazines. She remains an indomitable presence on the small and large screen.
Four lifelong friends have their lives turned upside down to hilarious ends when their book club tackles the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey.
Diane (Diane Keaton) is recently widowed after 40 years of marriage. Vivian (Jane Fonda) enjoys her men with no strings attached. Sharon (Candice Bergen) is still working through a decades old divorce. Carol’s (Mary Steenburgen) marriage is in a slump after 35 years. From discovering new romance to rekindling old flames, they inspire each other to make their next chapter the best chapter.
See all four actresses in the new trailer for BOOK CLUB.
Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen are all Oscar winning actresses. Bergen was nominated for an Academy Award for STARTING OVER.
Paramount Pictures presents in association with June Pictures and Endeavor Content, an Apartment Story production, a film by Bill Holderman, Book Club.
Starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson with Andy Garcia and Don Johnson. Executive Produced by Ted Deiker and Alan Blomquist. Produced by Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Bill Holderman and Erin Simms. Written by Bill Holderman and Erin Simms. Directed by Bill Holderman.
The film opens in theatres May 18. Join the club today at www.BookClub.movie.
(L-R) Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton in the film, BOOK CLUB, by Paramount Pictures
(L-R) Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen in the film, BOOK CLUB, by Paramount Pictures
June (the big wedding month) is soooo three months ago, and February (home of THAT holiday) is nearly half a year away, but the new indie comedy for the first of September looks at romance and marriage. Now, this isn’t a sweet “rom-com” all about the bloom of “new love” and the rocky, but ultimately smooth road to the altar. No, this basically concerns three couples who have made that committment (one hasn’t got the certificate, but they’ve got a child), but they’ve hit a bump (actually one is moments from careening off the highway). You could say that the last tier of the wedding cake is in the fridge, the foil is frayed, and freezer burn is imminent. Though somehow there are still lots of laugh at this look at relationships whose title harkens back to the big event, I DO…UNTIL I DON”T.
The story’s setting is romantic, the sleepy little Florida town of Vero Beach. But a visitor to this burg is about to shake them all awake. At a library conference room, Vivian (Dolly Wells), an acclaimed British documentarian, announces to a gathered group of locals, that the town will be the setting of her new work about modern marriage. Her intent is to show that the institution is outmoded, and marriage vows should be “up for renewal” at seven-year intervals. Vivian and her crew will interview residents with a financial compensation involved. This interests one of her fans, the shy, reserved Alice (Lake Bell). Her marriage to hubby Noah (Ed Helms) has been reduced to procreation interludes prompted by a fertility “app”. Plus their window treatment shop is circling the drain, so they could use of participant cash. Alice envies the wild spirit of her sister Fanny (Amber Heard), who lives a nomadic life with long-time partner Zander (Wyatt Cenac) and their little boy Zenith. The trio is in town for a “craft festival’ and stop by. Alice is stunned when Fanny mentions that they have already been approached by Vivian to be in the doc (she wants to show their modern “open relationship”). While at a local diner, the film maker encounters a bickering middle-aged couple, Cybil (Mary Steenburgen) and Harvey (Paul Reiser). She’s estranged from her adult daughter by her first marriage and is frustrated by what she thinks is Harvey’s midlife crisis (always on his new motorcycle and dressed accordingly in leather jacket, helmet, etc.). When Harv heads to the mens room, Vivian makes her an offer to be filmed, and Cybil negotiates a deal. But when Vivian doesn’t get the results she wants (Alice and Noah are too dull, Fanny and Zander aren’t actually that “open”), what will she do to get her theory on film? And what happens when the three couples get wind of her methods?
A talented group of comic actors has been gathered by Ms. Bell, though I would argue that her role is not the one most integral to the story. That would be Ms. Wells as the aggressive, abrasive Vivian, who is the closest to being the real villain in this tale. She’s so egocentric, so preening, that’s its hard to see how anyone this irritating would be given funding for her “preconceived” projects. Vivian recalls the feature directing debut of Albert Brooks in 1979’s REAL LIFE in which his Brooks character forces himself into his subjects’ lives, trying to “jump-start” some drama that’ll make the film more compelling and commercial. Despite her energetic work, Wells can’t quite make Vivian as endearingly silly as Brooks and only succeeds in making her a pretentious pill. Then there’s Bell as the twittery, repressed Alice, a role that’s frustratingly inconsistent. She works best as the supportive, frazzled spouse, but her “throwing Noah under the bus” during the doc scenes and a later foray into the “adult services industry” (didn’t Streisand do that over 40 years ago in FOR PETE’S SAKE) arrive right out of left field. As talented as she is (and she’s been the only bright spot in some many flicks) Bell can’t make her more than a cliché. Helms, as her spouse Noah, does a spirited twist on his “aggressive nerd” form THE HANGOVER trilogy and TV’s “The Office” while showing us the fragile side of the guy’s psyche. Heard is a glorious, glamorous “flower child” as Fanny as she makes the Bohemian fashions and attitude feel fresh and new. Cenac brings a laid-back snark to Zander, a “chill dude’ who’s more “of this world” than he lets on around his “lady”. The most fascinating pair may be Reiser and Steenburgen. She’s been doing great work recently on TV’s “The Last Man on Earth”, and her Cybil is another cynical, dour woman who will not tolerate any nonsense. She looks at her hubby with dead eyes, thinking he’s a clown, but really more dismayed by he own choices. The story’s hero may be Reiser’s Harvey, who stand up to Vivian and will not let Cybil give up on them. While many of his roles have been as a twitchy neurotic, Reiser this time out conveys an inner strength that propels Harvey to fight for their love.
This is the second feature film from the multi-talented Lake Bell, after her auspicious debut four years ago with IN A WORLD. That film was fresh and fascinating, an insider’s view of the unseen world of the voice artist, a family dynamic laced with loads of “tinsel town” feuds and fights. I wish I could say the same for the follow-up, with several plots that barely connect (the Harvey/Alice thread is the most frayed). Everyone seems to bounce off of Vivian until the nearly incoherent finale where the couple almost band together for a “Marriage is Marvy!” music number, complete with, believe it or not, somebody going into labor (really, again?). It just feels too close to some of the cloying big cast holiday comedies from the late Gary Marshall. Let’s hope that Bell gets much better material for her much-anticipated third feature (maybe a return to the sound booth, please), rather than this uneven farce that’s a poor mix of elements from other films (the earlier mentioned REAL LIFE, PARENTHOOD, and many others). I DO…UNTIL I DON’T just doesn’t cut …the ole’ movie wedding cake.
2 Out of 4
I DO…UNTIL I DON’T opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas
The humorous and heartwarming award-winning film, Dean, will arrive on DVD, Digital HD and On Demand August 29 from Lionsgate. Comedian and Emmy® nominee Demetri Martin (2004, Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program, TV’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”) stars alongside Academy Award® winner Kevin Kline (1988, Actor in a Supporting Role, A Fish Called Wanda) as a father and son who set out on their own paths to find a new normal following a life-changing event. The film’s all-star cast also includes Gillian Jacobs, Rory Scovel, Ginger Gonzaga, Screen Actors Guild Award® nominee Reid Scott (2012, Ensemble in a Comedy Series, TV’s “Veep”), and Academy Award® winner Mary Steenburgen (1981, Actress in a Supporting Role, Melvin and Howard). Written and directed by Demetri Martin, this comedy about loss, grief and the redemptive power of love won Best Narrative Feature at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Including two never-before-seen featurettes and a Q&A with Demetri Martin and Rory Scovel, the Dean DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.
Writer-director Demetri Martin stars alongside Academy Award® winner Kevin Kline (1988, Actor in a Supporting Role, A Fish Called Wanda) in this comedic and heartfelt film about a father and son coming to terms with love, loss, and everything in between. Following a life-shaking event, Dean (Martin), a New York illustrator, hops a transcontinental flight hoping to figure out his increasingly crazy world. While in Los Angeles, Dean unexpectedly discovers romance, hope, inspiration, and the importance of family.
DVD/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES
“This Is a Movie: Making Dean” Featurette
“Drawing on Film: Stories About Dean” Featurette
Dean: Q&A with Demetri Martin and Rory Scovel
CAST
Demetri Martin TV’s “House of Lies,” “Our Fascinating Planet,” and “We Bare Bears”
Kevin Kline A Fish Called Wanda, Beauty and the Beast, Ricki and the Flash
“No one seems to love or understand me. Oh what hard luck stories they all hand me”
MELVIN AND HOWARD screens Friday, June 16th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). This is the third film in their ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’ The movie starts at 8:00pm.
Paul Le Mat is an average Joe named Melvin E. Dummar in MELVIN AND HOWARD (1980) an effective combination of drama and comedy from director Jonathan Demme. Melvin often finds it difficult to make ends meet, no matter what line of work he’s in. Then, one day, it seems as if his luck might change. A stranger leaves on his desk a will proclaiming Melvin to be one of 16 heirs to the fortune of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Once upon a time, Melvin had given a lift to an aged, decrepit looking individual (Jason Robards) who claimed to be Hughes. The two sang ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ to each other and then remarked about the scent of sage and greasewood in a scene both touching and humorous. All of a sudden Melvins’ ordinary life isn’t so ordinary anymore, and he even has to go to court to affirm that he’s not making up this incredible story.
MELVIN AND HOWARD is further testimony to the versatility of the late Hollywood filmmaker Jonathan Demme, who’d gotten his start, like many of his peers, working for independent operator Roger Corman. Demme has been able to move from exploitation feature (FIGHTING MAD) to comedy (MARRIED TO THE MOB) to documentary (COUSIN BOBBY) to thriller THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) to message movie (PHILADELPHIA) with ease. Here Demme makes the most of the engrossing script by Oscar winning Bo Goldman, and the two men succeed the most in portraying the various ups and downs of average American life.
And, of course, it’s pretty funny as well. Most of the highlights are provided by the memorable Mary Steenburgen (an Oscar winner here , for Best Supporting Actress) as Melvins’ first wife, especially during a TV talent contest. Mary is a delight – and even gets naked, for those who are interested. Demme fills the cast with top actors, although Robards’ screen time is relatively brief. Le Mat has a genuine, likable, Everyman type quality here. Strong support is provided by character actors such as Jack Kehoe, Michael J. Pollard, John Glover, Charles Napier, and Sonny Carl Davis, and other familiar faces like Martine Beswick, Gloria Grahame, Dabney Coleman, Pamela Reed, and Charlene Holt. Joe Spinell appears unbilled; the real Melvin E. Dummar also turns up as a counterman in a bus depot.
MELVIN AND HOWARD is the kind of story that seems too far-fetched to be true, yet it’s all performed and filmed so endearingly that it moves along extremely well, holding ones’ attention consistently.
Admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper I.D.
Here’s the rest of the line-up for the other films that will be part of the ‘Tribute to Jonathan Demme’: 6/17 – Stop Making Sense (1984) 6/23 – Something Wild (1986) 6/24 – Married to the Mob (1988) 6/30 – The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 7/1 – Philadelphia (1993)
Don’t miss Demetri Martin, Kevin Kline, Gillian Jacobs, and Mary Steenburgen in DEAN, a heartfelt story of a father and son coming to terms with love, loss, and everything in between.
In Select Theaters June 2nd!
Check out the new trailer:
Writer/Director/Comedian Demetri Martin stars alongside Academy Award winner Kevin Kline in this comedic and heartfelt tale about a father and son coming to terms with love, loss and everything in between. Dean (Martin) is an illustrator whose unwillingness to deal with the recent death of his mother means escaping his hometown of New York for an interview with an ad agency in Los Angeles. His retired engineer dad Robert (Kline) takes a more regimented approach to grief, including putting the family home up for sale. Both father and son set out on their own paths to find a new normal as unexpected circumstances and potential new love interests threaten to thwart all plans.
DEAN stars Demetri Martin, Kevin Kline, Gillian Jacobs, Mary Steenburgen, Reid Scott, Rory Scovel, Christine Woods, Ginger Gonzaga, Peter Scolari, and Briga Heelan
In this comedy-adventure, A WALK IN THE WOODS, celebrated travel writer Bill Bryson (Academy Award® winner Robert Redford) challenges himself to hike the Appalachian Trail—2,200 miles of America’s most unspoiled, spectacular and rugged countryside from Georgia to Maine—instead of retiring to enjoy his loving and beautiful wife (Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson) and their large and happy family. In celebration of the film coming out on Digital HD, On Demand, DVD and Blu-ray on December 29th, WAMG is giving away copies of Bill Bryson’s book A WALK IN THE WOODS. Check out below for rules on how to enter.
The peace and tranquility Bill (Redford) hopes to find, though, is anything but, once he agrees to being accompanied by the only person he can find willing to join him on the trek—his long-lost and former friend, Stephen Katz (Academy Award® nominee Nick Nolte). Katz is a down-on-his-luck serial philanderer. After a lifetime of relying on his charm and wits to keep one step ahead of the law, Katz sees the trip as a way to sneak out of paying some debts and sneak into one last adventure before it’s too late. The trouble is, the two have a completely different definition of the word “adventure.” Now, they’re about to find out that when you push yourself to the edge, the real fun begins.
TO ENTER:
ENTER YOUR NAME AND E-MAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE A WINNER.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.
2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE REDFORD OR NOLTE MOVIE? (COMMENT BELOW)
3. WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES.
No purchase necessary.
SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE OUTTAKES AND FEATURETTES ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL AND HIKING TIPS FROM THE LEGENDARY CAST!
BONUS FEATURES ON BLU-RAY™, DVD AND ITUNES EXTRAS:
“Sounds of A Walk in the Woods” – A featurette on the music from the film.
“The Appalachian Trail” – Legendary actors Robert Redford Nick Nolte, director Ken Kwapis and producers Chip Diggins and Bill Holderman delve into the intricacies of filming on The Appalachian Trail.
“Take a Hike with a Legendary Cast” – Legendary actors Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, along with director Ken Kwapis and producers Chip Diggins and Bill Holderman discuss being part of the film.
“A Walk in the Woods Outtakes” – Laugh along with the cast in these side-splitting outtakes!
“Robert Redford’s Call to Action PSA” – Legendary actor Robert Redford shares why it’s important to preserve The Appalachian Trail.
