Irishchatter
I absolutely loved hearing what came out of Dukakis' mouth. Seriously my jaws were hurt with laughter with the amount of curse words she was using on people. Man she really did play a butch lesbian really well and like it wouldn't be hard to love her character. Frickers character was brillant too, omg I absolutely laughed at the scene where she accidentally hit the hitchhikers fathers balls with her head, when she thought that she was sleeping with her partner. Seriously Brenda Fricker can play a blind person really well, especially with a lot of humour! I even thought Doucette's character was super good as the hitchhiker and of course, he was very handsome which is a bonus ;P
Really though, he was brillant too!All actors were brilliant including Kristin Booth as the granddaughter. I have to admit though in the end, it was sad and unexpected when Frickers character died and the fact that both women didn't get a chance to have a proper wedding ceremony but it taught us that love never died with those two women! I give this 9/10!
ira -
*No spoilers until the end of the review* (no explicit spoilers in the end either, but you can easily guess what it's about)Two elderly lesbians, Stella and Dotty, on a road trip to Canada to get married. On their way they pick up a hitchhiker, Prentice. Cloudburst is a beautiful and funny movie with great pacing and good actors. I liked the characters and their stories, they were funny and interesting and each character brings their own personality and complexity into the movie. The one thing I disliked about this movie is the ending, on which I elaborate below.All in all, definitely worth watching. ***spoilers (not explicit)***The ending could have been better. I don't have a problem with sad or tragic endings, but it was absolutely unnecessary here. It didn't add emotional depth or anything good into the movie. It could have just as easily ended happily and it would have been just as great if not better.
Phillip Marsh
Olympia Dukakis is amazing as Stella. Brenda Fricker is incredible as Dot. Ryan Doucette is wonderful as Prentice.There are spoilers in there. I checked the spoiler box. This is your last chance to skip my review.If you are offended by foul language don't watch the movie.Olympia plays an old lesbian with a mouth that would make the saltiest sailor blush. Fabulously funny! Sort of like a lesbian version of Ouiser Boudreaux. I don't know why some writers think that movies with homosexual characters in them have to have a tragic component. I loved the movie up until just before end ... why couldn't they have just gone back to Maine and lived happily ever after?The movie hit home. I am gay and have been in a relationship for 22.5 years as of this review. My hubby and I live in a state where gay marriage is not recognized, Alabama. With the right wingers pushing laws to outlaw gay marriage (or recognition of it performed in other states) it is very scary. We have no rights. Even armed with a folder full of legal paperwork things are not certain. One of the main characters, Dot, is shipped off to an old folks home by her granddaughter. The granddaughter tricks her into signing over her power of attorney ... Dot is blind and so she can't read what she is signing. No, this is not just fiction. There are some terribly nasty people in the world. One of my favorite scenes is where Stella is hitch hiking the last part of the way to Canada. A guy picks her up and she goes off into this bit about the C-word ... it reminded me of George Carlin's bit about the F- word. I was howling with laughter watching Olympia do this scene. Blast - was going to give the movie a 9 because of the writer's desire to put another tragic spin on a story with homosexual characters but the rest of the movie is definitely a 10. Oh, I did find the scene where Dot got into bed with the naked man very funny ... I loved when she started whacking him with her walking stick - very much like something that Diana Trent (Waiting for God) would have done ... but she would have whacked to permanently damage.Really, this is a great movie. Very engaging. The acting is great. The characters are wonderful.
cmcaleer1
It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a movie as much as I did when I watched Cloudburst last summer. My daughter and I watched it together and we laughed and cried all the way through it. I had not heard anything about the show before seeing it and it was a thrill to be so surprised at how great the show was. While all of the cast played their parts wonderfully, my favourite character was Ryan Doucette and I look forward to seeing him in many more future movies. I hope it comes out on video so I can buy a copy to add to my home collection. I can't wait to watch it again. Thank you for such great entertainment and keep up the great work Ryan.