User reviews

Yes, this is an indie film with very little money to pour into production values, but what it lacks in technical proficiency, it makes up for with heart. Jordan Prentice held my attention for every second of his screen time. He delivered a very human character, complete with emotional vulnerabilities, flaws, hopes, and life choices, and all played with surprising subtlety and warmth.

Kristin Adams also turned in a quiet and playful role as the love interest. Once again, her character was believable and real. Kudos to director Jeff Kopas for evoking such natural deliveries from his cast.

Being filmed in Canada's cottage country, I could almost feel the cold nights in the airstream trailer. But the quaint Blue Mountain Village, nestled among ski hills, made for some very attractive and golden daytime locations.

The supporting cast were good at supporting the lead and the story. Although the ending (I won't spoil it) left me a little baffled with its abruptness and lack of explanation, it also felt very real. Life often doesn't provide neat explanations for people's actions, nor does it resolve in a tidy climax.

What really struck me as a sign of a good film was that I kept thinking about the characters and the mood of the film for days. For me, that's a sign of a well-told story when it lasts longer than an hour after I've watched it.

This film is for viewers who want to think and feel for themselves, so if you're looking for pure escape and spoon-fed storytelling, try the latest rom-com form Hollywood. But if you want to spend 80 minutes exploring the simple lives of some people you could easily meet at the nearest small-town ski lodge, check out An Insignificant Harvey.

NOTE: The behind-the-scenes featurettes on the DVD are very well done, engaging, insightful, and fun.

(2011) An Insignificant Harvey DRAMA

Co-produced, written and directed by Jeff Kopas which is another subtle movie that is identical to 2003 "Station Agent" which at the start showcases dwarf, Harvey Lippe (Jordan Prentice) going through his daily life who lives in a trailer working as some sort of intern for some ski resort. His life of "intimacy" start to unravel once he take a stray husky dog along with him, starting with the odd Lucas Harold played by Steven McCarthy who intervened while Harvey's dog was going to be shot by his drunken boss, and then Dakota (Kristin Adams) who imposes on Harvey on how to groom his dog. The film has it's moments but it's not better than "The Station Agent". All these three characters spend time with one another expressing some of their ups and downs.

The film "An Insignificant Harvey" is a thought provoking twisted tale, with a positive look on a unconventional story. This film was as "indie" as I was hoping, and surprisingly had quite a lot of comedic undertones. Found myself laughing quite a lot. The acting was impeccable. I am taking my view on "little people" actors as a wonderful change as a leading man in a film. I am captivated when the vulnerabilities of people are so well understood and portrayed, this film did just that. With out making everything "perfect" in the end it was real in the end. I have seen this film 3 times and enjoyed it even more every time I watched it. If you are sick of the cookie cutter"romantic comedies" and over emotional "Dear John" movies then this is right up your ally something totally different and surprising. This film made the top of my list.

I Did not enjoy this film despite repeated attempts to watch it, and the fact that I really wanted to like it. I was frustrated by some of the far-fetched and unrealistic characters and scenes, I thought the protagonist was very difficult to relate to and ended up shutting the TV off after the scene at the vet clinic when the dog was injured. I think that scene completely missed whatever the director's intent was (with me anyways) and appeared cruel and sickening. Some parts of the movie are not bad, but it was one of the more difficult and awkward films I've seen in a long time. The protagonist's employer is unrealistically abusive and his friend Lucas is pretty hard to believe as well.