That's Not Us

Not too much I can say about this delightful movie. Read the review by B. G. Thomas, that short review expresses just about all I could write. Yes, the acting is very good, the actors are complete unknowns to me, and the director created a fun and thoughtful movie on a small budget.

I would like to add the visuals are intricate to the relationships between the three couples - the locked fence, that long winding wooden walkway, the lost dog, and the very cottage they are staying in. They come to the island in late September, the summer season is over. There is conflict, miscommunication, and resentment in the group. But the ending is so nice and it's all expressed in what they discover in each other and about the cottage.

Simple and sweet symbolism!

The dialogue feels so real and awkward in a wholesome way. The actors are very talented and express their frustrations in a relatable, everyday way. Cinematics of their weekend on a quaint beach house are just so stellar. Every aspect of the movie just feels so incredibly intimate and authentic.

That's Not Us (2015) was directed by William Sullivan. Three couples visit a beach house that belongs to a relative of one of the six. The area is almost deserted, because it's very late in the summer. So far, the film could be compared to an episode of "Friends." Three men, three women. One male/female sibship.

What's takes this movie far beyond "Friends," is that one couple is hetero, one is gay, and the third is lesbian. In 2015, it's OK to be hetero, but it's just as OK to be gay or lesbian. Everyone accepts this, and it doesn't really affect the plot.

What does affect the plot is that all three couples are having serious relationship problems. There's lots of comedy in the film, but there are parts of it that show us that the partners are unhappy much of the time. How they deal with their problems is the theme of the movie.

We saw this film on the large screen at ImageOut, the wonderful Rochester LGBTQ film festival. It will work on the small screen as well.

Note: If you are an EMT, or any other type of health care worker, you will cringe at certain parts in the film. We are seeing a world in which a serious injury is dealt with by taking some Ibuprofen. Not OK. "You've been warned."

Three couples are on a beach vacation get-away, and right from the start, we see that there are issues to be worked out. The husband of the straight couple feels that he has to do "work related stuff", and the wife is not happy about that. The lesbians are having "bedroom" issues, and the gay boys appears to have "mom" issues and communication issues. and that's just the first 15 minutes. I really dug how the mixed group just got along together. things get all goofy. The central conflict. The couples all have things to work out. Most of it was quite predictable, but well done and authentic. Some fun and funny lines, lots of yelling. Normal people stuff. Good film. Sort of a "Big Chill" with some LGBT folks. Directed by William Sullivan. Written by Sullivan and Derek Dodge. Interesting that although much of the cast has a good solid resume, Rysdahl is the only one with a photo attached, as of today. I assume this was a hit at film festivals, but only 182 votes so far. Hope more people see this, now that this is showing on netflix.

What a lovely little movie. Wow. Simple. Yet, very intense. Three couples go away for a weekend to an island home and very intense issues are brought to the surface. Seeing how they dealt with those issues was that all too real human story of this film. A gay couple, a lesbian couple and a straight couple. Their stories were very real, I believed in them totally, and there was not a lack-luster performance. I mean all were TOP-notch. I had not heard of any of these people and I don't think I've ever seen them in anything. This film only proves to me that there is no reason to have a movie with crappy acting. There are thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of excellent out-of-work actors out there. Why film a movie with anything less than excellence? I will watch this movie again. And I will be looking for movies by the people who wrote this one!