Ed-Shullivan The film is about a 40 something aged man who is reminiscing about his teenage years growing up in a small US town where his dad ran an auto garage. The lead is played by Gabrielle Marantz who plays a character named Matt Rupert. Matt's father "Doc" Ruppert played superbly by Xander Berkeley is a former war veteran who is trying to eke out an honorable living by running his own tow and automotive service station but he has some competition which is currently getting the better end of the business throughout town since his competitor has the towing licenses for the district locked up.Matt has a brother who has no interest in the families auto repair shop so the support to keep the business running falls on Matt's shoulders. What Matt dreams about is getting away from his small town life and not spending the rest of his life repairing cars in his dads' garage. After witnessing his parents argue each night about unpaid bills, no hot water, and a fledging auto repair business that may be on its last legs, Matt has some big worries that most kids don't.Matt's best friend Schulz, played by Corby Griesenbeck, is having trouble of his own at home and so the two young men have conspired to blow this pop stand and head out on to the highway singing "life is a highway". But wouldn't you know it? Life gets in the way in the form of parents, cars, girlfriends, bikers, money (or lack of it) and friendship, not necessarily in any order. Matt's story of reminiscing of his life in the 1970's is a story that we can all relate to and I must give the writer/director/actor Carl Thibault credit for putting together a decent storyline and music score. Where the film fails though is to give us a story on the big screen that resonates with its audience and captivates us for 90 minutes or so as well as some other great films such as Stand By Me or the "must see" A Bronx Tale.I am not suggesting you avoid the film as it has some good qualities to look for in a film, such as Xander Berkeley's performance as a hard working war vet with strong principles, just don't expect it to transcend you for the next 90 minutes in to another world and with a story that will stay with you. Once the popcorn is gone, you probably will want more food rather than feel compelled to stay in your seat as you would with the aforementioned films.

akkittelson Great cast (except for one huge exception) and some nice shots of a beautiful landscape, but otherwise this movie is enormously flawed.Why am I going out of my way to write a critique? Am I just mean? Perhaps, but I have some thoughts that I think are worth sharing, or at least I have a bone to pick because I feel I am owed some time back.This story is unbelievably boring. It is like watching concrete grow or like watching bolts turn. Hardly anything of interest happens. The only compelling aspect is the family's predicament, but sadly that isn't the focus, and it doesn't satisfactorily change.Any time something seemingly central is about to happen, something else unrelated and peripheral happens instead.There is no cause and effect. When the main character finds his dad among a group of men sharing a hooker, he does nothing, which is weird. That would be the perfect time for the main character to rethink his loyalty to his dad, which would help him decide to agree to leave town right away. The central conflict is that the main character's best friend wants to leave town as soon as possible, and the main character doesn't quite yet. His excuse is that he wants to help out his dad. Once he finds out that his dad isn't the man he thought he was, he should change his mind.Also, the main character's best friend says he needs to get out of town because he can no longer withstand his father's abuse. It would be so much more powerful if he is ultimately beaten to incapacitation by his father, rather than being hit by a car. His father is the looming danger. Having his father beat him to death would make the rising stakes culminate, and it would make the main character's plea "Just one more week..." so much more meaningful.There are peripheral and loose ends that never tie in. This movie needs to be much tighter.Compounding the torture of the boring story, the plot flaws and the dangling ends is the unbelievably awful performance by the actress Tania Ramonde. Her performance might be the worst on-screen performance I have seen in years, if not ever.I don't blame her; I blame the director.How could the director think that her oddly wandering eyes and contrived "sensuality" (I put it in quotes because I do not find her to be sexy at all) are pleasing to either the story or to an audience's eyes? I had to hide my eyes. I really did.Also, her character just appears out of nowhere. Why is she walking around this strange and desolate town all alone so late at night? Why is she dressed like she lives in modern day Beverly Hills? And if this town is so small, how come she and the main character do not know each other before this night when she just walks up out of the darkness?This brings me to another point about the setting: Where are the stores and the cars and the people? Was this project so low budget that they couldn't afford any props or extras? It's like a ghost town, except without the ghosts.In summary, I care about the plight of the family, and I think that most of the acting is quite admirable. I just think that the story is clichéd, boring and long-winded and the acting by the ingénue is...I won't be rude and say it again because I don't want to burst her bubble. Like I said, I blame the director. All in all, I give this movie a 3.

dsmith511 It was so refreshing to see a movie containing real life experiences. No offense to the sci-fi or action heroes of today. We have just become so busy, and fast paced, we forgot the quieter days of yesteryear. When, what you had was just right, and family and friends were most important. The story was something so many can relate to including myself. There were no cell phones, mp3's, DVD's or cars that have the directions right in them. It was a story of trials and triumphs that was very well told. Two thumbs up to the writer. He has a story that is told all unto often today. The acting and the directing were terrific.They put me back to a time of my youth that has been long since forgotten.

HeathenClerk Half-decent acting, nice cinematography- story wasn't plotted well, characters entered and left with little to no explanation or foreshadowing or really any reason. Story possibly overshadowed by possibly that these are memories of the writer/director, and not enough time was spent making it wholly understandable to an audience with no prior knowledge of his memories. Very anti-climactic, ambiguous rationalizing- and a still shot of space. Main character's thrust not very well explained other than generic "leaving the farm" type of moment at the beginning, not enough tie-ins to previous reinforcing principles and moments earlier in the story. Hoped for more- 3/10