meaninglessbark
There's really nothing about this forgettable film that makes it worth recommending. It's unimaginative in story, character, and execution and pretty predictable when it tries to be clever. If you've watched a decent amount of indie films you've already seen everything in this movie done better in some other film.But the acting is fine (Enrico Colantoni is great, James LeGros is good), it looks fine, and the music is ignorable to decent and it's all exactly the sort of music you'd expect to hear in this sort of film.It's not worth seeking out, but (and this is the only reason I bothered to write a review for it) if you happen to be stuck in a hotel room or are house sitting for friends and it comes on some indie film channel and you have nothing to read and don't really want to think about anything it's not a bad option.
drpakmanrains
Judging from the other reviews here, maybe I turned off the movie prematurely, (about an hour in). I don't like movies where the humor is forced, where every situation ends in a pratfall or similar accident, and where every character is a stereotype. Here it is an overly stiff uptight college nerd whose mother is a caricature of an overbearing parent, who has a girlfriend who is totally opposite and promptly dumps him, all of which makes him want to finally prove he can be a trifle spontaneous. Such quirky characters are all too common in some indie films. (and I am generally an indie fan). They are all extreme examples of types thrown together for easy plot laughs, and never resembling the nuanced shades of gray that real people exhibit. I almost never stop a movie before the end, and I admit this one had a few decent moments, but it was all so obviously set-up, with an extreme slacker paired with an extremely clumsy nerdy academic, who each predictably learn from the other to loosen or tighten accordingly, that I never really cared how it actually played out. It reminded me of "Rushmore" a little, which was slightly better, and to its credit, it was much better than "Running With Scissors", which for me holds the record for the worst Indie comedy I have seen. So if you liked those films you will probably love this one.
Roland E. Zwick
"Sherman's Way" is a tale of two unlikely buddies whose paths cross quite by accident in the fertile fields of the Napa Valley. One, Sherman Black, is an uptight little rich kid from Manhattan who's trying to get out from under the thumb of his domineering mother who has his entire future as a ladder-climbing corporate lawyer firmly mapped out for him. The other, Palmer, is a down-on-his-luck free-spirit who roams the countryside in his beat-up cherry-red sports car, not quite able to come to terms with the fact that, two decades earlier, he came in fourth place in an Olympics downhill skiing competition. After Sherman's girlfriend dumps him for being too unadventurous and vanilla for her taste, the befuddled yuppie heads to the open road to flag down a ride. Enter Palmer in his roadster and off the two strangers go, two polar opposites brought together by fate to learn from one another how best to get through life. And, though Sherman does most of the learning, he's still able to teach a great life-altering lesson to Palmer at the end. In very quick order, a strong bond is established between the two men, as they debate the relative merits of the carefree life vs. the corporate rat race with good-natured humor and aplomb.Sherman is further helped along in his loosening-up process by Addy, an attractive young artist who shows the young man a thing or two about living in the moment and about the importance of actively pursuing the desires of one's heart."Sherman's Way" is a predictable but breezy small town comedy, filled with rapid-fire one-liners and charming, self-effacing performances from Michael Shulman, James Le Gros, Brooke Nevin and Enrico Colantoni. Smartly written by Tom Nance and sharply directed by Craig Saavedra, this topsy-turvy, slightly sentimental version of "Pygmalion" will leave you with a lump in your throat and a smile on your face.And that Northern California scenery is as flavorful and fine as a fully-aged Napa Valley wine.
pischina
I saw this movie at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2008 and thoroughly enjoyed it, and it seemed like the entire audience did too. Very likable characters, believable character growth, Excellent actors, Excellent writing. I don't like spoiling what movies are about so I won't go into details. The movie description keeps referencing "road trip" but I felt like it was sort of a road trip pitstop movie. Meaning... There's these two guys, they go on a road trip, but then they have to stop at a small town for a few days and that's where the majority of the film takes place. I'm not sure why Lacy Chabert is credited so highly in the movie because she's in it for all of 2 minutes. But Brooke Nevin is in it and she was pretty damn awesome.I was sad this movie was over as I really enjoyed the characters and wanted to know what happens in the future. I sincerely hope this movie makes it to the big screen or at least to DVD so more people can see it. It was one of the best movies of Cinequest.