Roxie

ROXIE is a small, independent film with good writing, solid acting, and a lot of heart. It's thoughtful and funny with a bit of soul. I enjoyed it.

You don't see a lot of films where the main characters are in their sixties. When you do, it's usually something stereotypical, and played with unrealistic characters and broad humor...like sitcoms.

This film is different than that. It's more like a foreign film in that it gives the characters depth of feeling and emotion. These are not stock characters, even though there are some silly moments...in a good way. Each of the main characters goes through their own journey that is deeply felt. It's a journey that changes each of them in tender, sad, deep, and funny ways.

Not such a good movie as the other reviews would have you believe. Not such a bad movie either.

Two old farts - Dave & Joel - run a family/marriage therapy practice. Both Dave & Joel suffer broken marriage and dysfunctional family issues. A classic case of the therapist needing therapy.

Dave is a successful writer on bringing romance back into a marriage and he and Joel are giving a presentation at a conference in San Francisco. While there they decide to use a call-girl service. Dave is an old hand at this but Joel is new and apprehensive about this game. Dave's call girl experience is a disaster while Joel's call girl experience fulfills his greatest fantasy.

This is where Roxie comes into he story!!! If you care to know why the movie is titled "Roxie" give it a look.

Roxie is about humanity's eternal ability to fall in love and to experience the joys and horrors of that magical state. The movie follows with pathos the problems of mature men and women and also of a hooker caught in the tragedy of her own hurtful game. As a person "of a certain age," I loved seeing excellent actors of my own generation (as well as young people) on the screen, depicting the dilemmas we can face. The film is funny, riveting, surprising and sad. My husband, who is a devoted movie buff is also a brutal critic. If a movie is dull or flags even for a bit, he instantly falls asleep. He was awake for every moment of Roxie which we saw at San Francisco's Sanford Meisner Film Festival. This movie is an original. You WANT to see it.

First I checked the reviews. Wow . . . ALL good.

So, then I watched the film.

Well, clearly this first part is a joke, I thought. Some stylistic extreme used to set up a premise. But it kept on. With the same people and the same absolutely ATROCIOUS acting. And, lest we place the entire burden on those hapless people . . . though they do deserve a good portion 'cause they are AWFUL . . . the directing was also truly awful.

Wait . . . what? . . . I checked the reviews again . . . did I miss something? Were the 'Bad' reviews somehow in some other place? Nope. None.

So, back I went for long enough to appreciate fully the silliness of the writing. It's lack of depth, intelligence . . . for that matter: sense.

I gave it about thirty minutes and then I got it. This is A BAD BAD movie. Oh, I thought, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WARN ME? Oh well, off to another film tra la . . . but this crapper, 'Roxie,' this one kept nagging at me. I kept worrying about poor unwarned you, about to fall into the trap of NO WARNING, as had I.

Sigh, I thought, I don't wanna write a review 'cause IMDb MAKES me write ten lines and all I have is one: 'THIS STINKS!' So, no, I'm not gonna bother, I decided and Off I went again to that other film tra la. STILL, you - poor unwarned you - pulled at me and I thought, oh ****, I can do it. I can come up with ten lines about what a waste of time this crapper is.

AND, I think I have.

Don't bother with 'Roxie,' it is unbelievably awful. You're welcome.

ROXIE is a thought-provoking and relatable "coming of second-age" drama! Like all great indie films, the lead characters in Roxie are seriously flawed which really makes you care about them and their journey. Yes, you may hate them a bit, but hopefully you'll feel bad for them. Either way, you will feel something because this film seriously goes there... It is very moving and insightful and the only other film I've seen do this is Alexander Payne's ABOUT SCHMIDT, so Roxie is in great company. To follow up, the acting is great, the production design is utilitarian but crisp and the photography is beautiful in a gritty and immediate way. Add to that a rich and unapologetic story and some nice twists and turns and... BRAVO you got a great movie!