Everyday People

There are not many movies that have been able to hold my attention lately. I find myself hitting the stop button far to often. I expected nothing better from what looked like a slow drama, Everyday People.

But I never once had the urge to shut off my DVD player. It is unfortunate that this movie is almost certain never to find a niche.

That is a shame. The movie is the engrossing story of-shockingly enough-everyday people with normal, everyday lives. If you feel sold out when a nice, simple drama ends in gunfire for some silly reason, if you're sick of CGI movies with no heart, this is you're movie. It doesn't need to force events to carry the plots along; instead, we get several stories that unfold naturally.

A restaurant is closing and it's staff must find new jobs. How they react and how their lives are changed is the story, no more, no less. The entire movie takes place over one work day. The acting is solid, the writing equally good. All around this is simply a well made little movie.

Another delight was that there really aren't fixed endings. Who settles their lives in one night? These people do not. We don't know what is going to happen to them or even if things will be okay in the end; we know only what we are given.

Overall, this is an engrossing, low key drama that you shouldn't pass up.

*** (three stars out of four)

This is an ensemble story of the employees of a diner about ready to be closed. The reactions of the people are varied as are their individual stories. That's what makes this movie. I was interested in all of the people, even if I didn't completely understand their motivations and reactions. This is an exceptionally well-written story and well worth the time to watch it.

I enjoyed this movie, but the direction and pacing were slow. The editing contained a few too much stock footage. While a bit slow, the characters maintained my interest in the movie overall.

I like movies that aren't scripted "tight". We don't know all of the choices that all of the characters make in their lives after the credits roll. While that is a turn off to those weaned on Hollywood movies, I find that adds to the intrigue of a movie.

If you like character-driven movies as I do, this one is any enjoyable way to spend 90 minute. (Rating 8/10)

The ensemble cast of relatively unknown actors did a fine job and this is quite an enjoyable movie. This was about a restaurant in New York City owned by a jewish man; his patrons are largely black. He decides to close down the restaurant due to declining receipts, and this is about the impact his decision has on all of the people involved. Sounds a lot like Barbershop, but a little more true to life.

One of the most genuine and sincere filmic representations of human life that I've seen in recent months. I originally thought that it was overly ambitious, as the director focuses on the lives of upwards of a dozen characters during a course of the day, attempting to share their individual struggles and paint an accurate picture of their personalities. Directors often encounter difficulties in breathing life into one character, but somehow this film manages to show the inner substance of all of these people.

The story revolves around the decision to close a diner in Brooklyn due to economic shortfalls. It looks at everyone: the ethical conflicts of the restaurant owner, the hard-edged competitiveness of the businessman behind the deal, and even the ex-junkie dishwasher's story. It makes a point of avoiding, perhaps even negating, stereotyping based on racial backgrounds, gender, age and every other social factor.

The world shown in Everyday People is a world of problems and hardships with no direct solution - it merely offers the viewer an understanding, something which is extremely undervalued. There is a certain bleakness that arises from this postmodern realism, but McKay doesn't leave you with the sense of futility and sadness. Rather he helps break down the sense of social alienation in the viewer through this truly compassionate and impartial gaze.

Everyday People is comparable to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989), but I would argue that it's more subdued and mature exploration. Do the Right Thing has a more progressive story that builds up to and revolves around a central intense climax, whereas Everyday People is merely a snapshot of these people's lives with some minor character growth. Also, I feel that Do the Right Thing is also heavily biased in its initial premises, which Everyday People is generally free of.

Solid script, solid acting, (all the actors are more or less "unknowns") and an amazing final product. This is one of those movies that will never get the recognition it deserves.

After seeing Jim McKay's "Girls Town" and "Our Song" (both shot VERY cheaply on video), I was totally unprepared for the beauty of EVERYDAY PEOPLE. It's gorgeously shot and edited and looks like a million bucks. Considering that it's mostly about a depressed Brooklyn neighborhood, this is all the more amazing. Whether this is due to the cinematographer, to McKay's direction, or just--at last--a bigger budget via HBO, I don't know. But congrats to all concerned. The movie itself is as wonderful as anything McKay has yet done. A famous Brooklyn eating hole looks like it's going out of business to make way for gentrification, and we viewers get to meet and spend some time with the owners and waiters, their relatives and friends, and even some of the "gentrifiers." The mix is bracing. Nobody ends up hero or villain, and if the movie never reaches the heights of great tragedy, comedy or romance, it also never overdoes anything. Scenes last only as long as they need to, each performance is real and exact, and by the end I'll bet you'll have chuckled often, (almost) shed a tear or two, and certainly better understood what a changing neighborhood means to a host of different people. As simple as "Everyday People" appears to be, this kind of ensemble of people and social issues is not easy to pull off without undue soapboxing. But McKay, his cast and his crew have done it. (And Billoah Greene, who plays Samel, should be going places, FAST!)