Jackpot

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Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> This sound of silence is music</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Sunny Holiday: Jon Gries</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Bobbi: Daryl Hannah</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Lester Irving: Garrett Morris</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Mel James: Adam Baldwin</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Janice: Peggy Lipton</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Sammy: Mac Davis</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Tangerine: Camellia Chase</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Roland: Rick Overton</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Cheryl: Crystal Bernard</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: Michael Polish</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: An aspiring singer and his manager hit the road trying to become famous by making a name for themselves as they win karaoke contests in small clubs. The singer's wife is upset with him because his idea of child support is to send home a lottery ticket once a month.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Right off we know that this is not your usual story when these three things occur. First, a bird's eye view through the audio cassette opening of a car stereo system; second, the first words spoken and written in the film are "f--- you" and third, that the manager for a country and western singer is an African-American. </div> <bR> <div> Sunny Holiday (Jon Gries) has meet his estranged wife Bobbi (Daryl Hannah) in a restaurant, where they are arguing about him not being devoted to his family; using profanity in public and in front of their young daughter, and most important, his lack of financial support. They seem to have a bittersweet love for each other, which they may or may not be able to use in resolving their relationship. </div> <bR> <div> Sunny desperately wants to be a successful singer and he has embarked on a "tour" of 43 cities, over nine months with his manager Lester Irving (Garrett Morris). Sunny seems to have <I>some</I> talent and with a little luck, he could get a recording contract, a band to back him up and club dates where he would earn money without having to win a contest. Lester is a dedicated small time manager who tries to ensure that Sunny gets the right karaoke songs to sing by the club owners. He also gives him advice, such as which monitors to read if the song he is going to sing is not one he knows all the words to. </div> <bR> <div> Sunny and Lester have a love/hate relationship in that Lester is getting 15% of much of nothing and he only wants to take that same percentage of Sunny's crap. Often they sleep in their old Chrysler K car, with a stainless steal dash, where most of the lettering is worn off. </div> <bR> <div> Along the way, there are memorable incidents with both Lester and Sunny. Lester appears to be a "race neutral" role, until he tells Sunny, after they are stopped by the police for having a stolen car (which Sunny thinks is his) "…black men don't run from the cops…."  </div> <bR> <div> So what is the movie really about? It's about <I>other</I> people that you come into contact with trying to live their lives as you are trying to live <I>yours.</I> It's more than just a slice of life but rather a slice of your soul.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I>Twin Falls Idaho</I>, the highly acclaimed previous film by the Mark and Michael Polish, received four stars from Roger Ebert. In part because he has a "…special feeling for movies that want to forget about plot and conflict, and spend their time instead in regarding particular lives." Seeing the film with that in mind helps you adjust your expectations so that you don't have to see the film twice to truly enjoy it. </div> <bR> <div> We have been trained to see films in three parts: the first thing is to set up the goal the main character wishes to achieve; the film then moves to numerous obstacles to keep the goal from being reached and finally a resolution (which is often unrealistic). We are so used to this "formula" that we at times can't follow a picture that does not adhere to that structure. It's outside of this formula that life exists and it can still be entertaining. We just have to think a little more.</div> <bR> <div> There are numerous memorable moments that Sunny shares with us. The Polish brothers are able to provide continuity of a scene that many directors often do via quick cuts as if they were shooting a music video. </div> <bR> <div> When Sunny picks up bar owner Janice (Peggy Lipton) and has sex with her (making love somehow just does not seem the right thing to say), he is constantly asking her if everything is OK. His classic words of "don't move" and the words that are said when a sexual event is completed are compelling. </div> <bR> <div> The next day when Sunny spills something onto her carpet, he retrieves his "infommerical" type gallon of cleaner from his car trunk to remove the stain. Before you know it, he sounds like a TV pitchman and is trying to sell the cleaner to Janice for the pricey sum of $50.00. She looks at him and asks if he thinks she's a slut…gives him the money…tells him that he's trying to f--- her twice and then proceeds to casually dismiss him. This one night stand shows you why his wife Bobbi has come to learn that Sunny is a flake.</div> <bR> <div> Later on the road trip Sunny picks up Cheryl from a bar and takes her home, after she falls and gets a mild concussion in his dressing room (the public washroom). He meets her daughter Tangerine when he goes upstairs to get some items from the medicine chest. Tangerine is in high school and the conversation and time Sunny spends with her while Cheryl is sleeping touches on statutory rape. </div> <bR> <div> Before Sunny goes on stage he needs two things…a prayer led by Lester, reminiscent of what NFL teams do just before the Superbowl, and a clear path to the stage. Even the wannabees have their rituals. </div> <bR> <div>  As Winston Churchill is quoted in the film as saying, "If you're going through hell, keep going." Sunny and the people he comes into contact with, be it for a few hours or in long term relationships, all seem to be trying to get from where they are to their own definition of the promised land. That's not a bad approach to life without trying to be a heavy thinker.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> R (sex; nudity; drugs; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> Jon Gries: <I>Twin Falls Idaho</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Daryl Hannah: <I>Rear Window-TV</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Garrett Morris: <I>Twin Falls Idaho</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Peggy Lipton: <I>The Postman</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> Camellia Chase: Debut</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Rick Overton: <I>Edtv</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Michael Polish: <I>Twin Falls Idaho</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="286" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>