Standing Still

A group of college kids return four years after graduation for a wedding. It sounds clichéd, and well, it is, but the ensemble is great that I didn't mind too much. It stars 20-something actors including Colin Hanks, Ethan Embry, Adam Garcia, Amy Adams, Mena Suvari, James Van Der Beek, and Jon Abrahams. Xander Berkeley is also in it for a little bit. The film has a bunch of familiar story lines with all of the different characters, but the actors do a good job of performing it. I would have liked it more if it stayed strictly comedy though, there were some parts where it tried to go to drama and it just felt a little out of place.

But anyway, it was a nice film, I'm sure the average college kid will enjoy it. And with so many characters, the director did a good job of not making the film too crowded and unorganized.

An amazing cast (impressive that the director got them all to do this low-budget film) Great job by first time director Matthew Cole Weiss. Funny, enjoyable to watch and identifiable. Think any recent college grad would relate. Colin Hanks as the agent, Jon Abrahams as the forlorn and lovable "Pockets Malone" and Ethan Embry as Donavan Parker, the originator of Power TIme were a riot. James Van Derbek looked great and did an excellent job as the actor "Simon Blake". The girls are all beautiful. Even the supporting cast is impressive, (Xander Berkley & Roger Avery). I enjoyed the soundtrack as well. Kudos to Weiss and the producers for this impressive little film.

This is great movie with an awesome young cast. There are many good looking, talented, young actors, and they don't disappoint. Amy Adams and Mena Suvari are both excellent. I thought the entire cast was believable and had excellent chemistry. This movie reminded me of The Big Chill, (which I also loved), with an ensemble cast who get together years after college for a wedding. There are many interesting situations, and it is entertaining to see how the characters handle these situations. There are a few surprises, some very funny moments, and drama. It would be easy to over direct a movie like this, but that didn't happen. As a viewer, I was completely engrossed, and couldn't wait to see would develop next. The script always kept moving, and there never was a dull moment. I think this will be a big hit in the theaters.

Watching this film reminded me of what it was like to be sick on a Sunday and the only channel that works is Lifetime. The dialogue is lame and predictable. There is little or no authenticity to the characters emotional discoveries. Surprisingly, James VanderBeek brought a lot to his character's role but his screen time was comparable to Christopher Walken's in True Romance. It was like watching the Family Stone minus the funny improvisational parts and extending the bad Hollywood movie parts. The actors may be good on their own but the direction and writing are to blame here. They throw in a pathetic lesbian scene and other moments that wouldn't have happened if this were to take place in real life but the screen writing class told them it is what the viewers want to see. There is also little or no attempt to hide how low budget this film was made for.

Saw this at a film festival in Vegas last year. You've seen the story before, but this ensemble cast does it better than most. From the opening scene, these characters are believable, funny, and very entertaining. I was only familiar with Mena Suvari & James Van Der Beek, but it's the "unknowns" who steal the show (especially Colin Hanks & Jon Abrahams). These guys are good enough to make you forget you're watching a low budget movie. My only gripe is with a dramatic scene at the end which fell a little flat, otherwise a great way to spend 90 minutes. It also doesn't hurt that Lauren German is VERY easy on the eyes. One of my favorite movies of 2005.