Sunshine State

... the fast forward button is definitely your friend on this one. This is basically a good story with some interesting characters, but most of the scenes are waayy tooo loooong! The plot revolves around the struggle between greedy developers and the good folks of Plantation Island, Fl. Of course we get the standard weaving of personal struggles into the bigger story line, and this is where this picture fails. Many of these sub-plots go on forever and are never resolved. It's almost like the director decided after 2 1/2 hours "gee I guess I better end the movie now". This film features many very good, well known actors (Edie Falco, Gordon Clapp, Mary Steenburgen, just to name a few), and they all do a excellent jobs, given the overall weakness of the script. I give this movie a 5/10.

Interesting, multi-faceted story of the lives of folks on Florida's Plantation Island. Many compelling characters populate this film: some sad, some funny, all very real. Great cast includes Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Angela Bassett, Timothy Hutton, James McDaniel, Alan King and Mary Steenburgen. Writer/director John Sayles seems (in my view) incapable of making a bad film. As with all filmmakers, some are better than others. This one falls somewhere in the middle. Sayles has made such excellent films in the past: Eight Men Out, Matewan, Lone Star, and Limbo (to name a few), that when he simply makes a good film it can somehow seem a bit disappointing. Certainly not for all tastes, Sunshine State impressed me, and I give it a 4 (out of 5).

Where Robert Altman wields gigantic casts like a battering ram, bombarding audiences with overlapping dialogue and showing off with tricksy camerawork, John Sayles draws us in to his richly observant tales by keeping things simple. He is a fine storyteller.

Sunshine State is a perfect example of why Sayles' laid-back approach works so well. This is a flowing, intriguing character study with a wry script delivered by a uniformly excellent and ego-free cast.

There is little by way of drama here, just a snapshot of a beachtown community in which lives frequently change but whose heart stays the same. Sit back and soak up the atmosphere.

(2002/John Sayles) ***1/2 out of ****

"In the beginning.....there was nothing."

Small towns are often used as the backdrop for many films, but seldom is the concept often explored. "Sunshine State", like many other films that tackle the concept, offers a slice of life into the world of the people who inhabit a small town, which is, in this case, a beach front town in Northern Florida.

Plantation Island is a picturesque small town. It's residents include many people ranging from different races, including whites, blacks, and Native Americans. But it goes a little deeper. Some of the characters are native to the area, some are just visiting. Edie Falco plays a down-to-earth motel owner, Timothy Hutton plays a land developer, Angela Bassett plays a woman who has just returned to the island after having left when she was 15, and Bill Cobbs plays a retired doctor who doesn't like where the future of the town is going. Throw in a couple of philosophical golf players, and there you have the island of Plantation.

This film has Robert Altman stamped all over it. And that's basically what it is: a toned down mosaic of Floridians, that looks like it was done by Robert Altman himself. This is a very good movie, with deep characters and a story with multiple layers. But the story and scenery can't make up for the periodic lulls here and there. All in all, an above average film that is worth a look.

-30-

This could have been a great film. It could have been a great character study. Instead it tries to handle too many characters and subplots and not really delving into any one too deeply. In the end I really didn't care about any of the characters because I didn't really know any of them that well.

The writing was good. It would have been better to write about just a few of the characters rather than to try and write about the entire population of Florida.

Production values were excellant.

Most of the actors were good.

Bottom line: Only go to see this movie if you don't have anything else planned.