Pie in the Sky

"Pie in the Sky", an ill-focused, occasionally clumsy, and always good natured little romantic comedy, tells of a dauntless young man, Charlie (Charles), who is consumed with two things: Working as the "eye in the sky" for L.A.'s Metro Traffic (a traffic reporting bureau) and working on his relationship with his girl friend (Heche). There is as little to fault in this film as there is to praise making it recommendable by default but also keeping it from scoring high marks. An okay diversion for sofa spuds but not worth a trip to the video store. (C-)

Having worked for Metro Traffic (the organization whose LA office is featured in the film) for 20 years, I got I big chuckle out of Josh Charles' line, "After all, who wouldn't want to work for Metro Traffic."

If I remember correctly, producers of this film contacted our then-CEO David Saperstein about using the company in the film and he was glad to oblige. David and his wife, Suzanne, had recently been featured on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." The scenes at the Metro Traffic Control office in LA were actually filmed on location there and not a movie set. I've had fun over the past few years loaning my copy of this flick to fellow employees and noting their varied reactions.

I actually have encountered employees in this company who have the same obsession with traffic as Charles' character. And, thank goodness I'm not one of them. I have a real life.

I saw this movie probably 3 years ago and thought it was pretty good. Josh Charles does a nice job as a traffic controller in a small town who dreams of landing a big job in a big city. The movie details his life, more or less if I remember correctly. Great song by Rusted Root is featured in the movie (send me on my way).

Josh Charles is wonderful as a young man obsessed with...traffic? He longs to be a traffic reporter in the sky, but first finds on-again/off-again love with a perplexing Anne Heche (she's so flaky he can't get a grip on her, and neither can we). John Goodman has a funny supporting role, and the production values are first-rate, but this is short-film material stretched out too far. Terrific cast includes Dey Young, Christine Lahti, and Brent Spiner, but each has very little to do, and the film is flattened out by an overall lack of imagination and by its length. More cleverness was obviously needed; there's not enough substance here for the picture to stay the course. ** from ****

I had a great time with this well done, quirky film. My crush on Anne Heche started with her engaging performance in this piece. The crush is no more, but my admiration for the movie, (and Ms. Heche), remains. The film is sweet without becoming saccharine. I recommend it.