Night Club was my favorite movie at the Golden Door International Film Festival a few weeks ago, in Jersey City, and I saw a nice variety of films there. One of the best things I liked about the movie was the personal connection the director had with the material, and this - I felt - brought out so much more in the picture.
While the film is a comedy that achieves the desired result, it also blends elements of drama (not too heavy-handed, but just enough to tug at our heart strings) that balance the picture out nicely.
I particularly liked the theme of friendship throughout the film, which director Sam Borowski conveys by showing several inserts of the characters shaking hands when they first meet. Simple, but effective. The basic premise of the film centers around Justin (Zachary Abel), who gets accepted into USC despite the hesitance of his father to send him because of the high price of admission. Once there, he befriends his roommate Chris (played nicely by Best Supporting Actor at the GDIFF Bryan Williams) and another female student Nicky (Gran Torino's Ahney Her).
All three have their own financial issues, so when Justin and the others are seemingly offered a dream job at the California Villa for a good salary, they take it, Chris and Nicky albeit with a little hesitance on their parts. As the duo suspected, it will be real work, helping care for the elderly. But all is not lost. Enter Ernest Borgnine.
Borgnine shows the three of them how to make it fun during the nights and even opens up his large wallet to fund a nightclub within the home during the after hours. Borgnine, the GDIFF's Best Actor, playing Albert is not only heartwarming, but funny - he says things you wouldn't expect him to say. I will let future audience members discover that for themselves,.
Unfortunately, according to the home's director Ms. Keaton (played comedic ally by Natasha Lyonne), this would break "State Law," which she quotes throughout. And, while she doesn't know about this latest venture, she is always trying to keep the kids on the path of the straight and narrow ... and anal. She wants everything just right, the supply closet stocked a certain way, "with the labels facing out." Lyonne - much like Borgnine - thrives in her role and steals a good portion of this film. She is a nice comedic relief, but she also serves as possibly the character with the best arc when you see her transformation. Perhaps that's why she won Best Actress at the GDIFF! But perhaps even better than Borgnine and Lyonne was Sally Kellerman, who beat out her cast mate Williams to win Best Supporting Actor at the GDIFF! Kellerman's performance as Dorothy, a woman who suffers from dementia, is captivating, and so very real. I still remember the director saying at the awards that she studied real patients who suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia and incorporated that into her performance.
But again, for me, one of the best things I liked about the movie was the personal connection the director had with the material. I remember him saying during his acceptance speech for Best Director at the GDIFF, that his mother suffered from Alzheimer's and that was, in fact, one of the reasons he took this project on. His love of the material, and his mother, clearly shows in the final product.
In conclusion, I will end with a personal opinion: I enjoyed this film very much as it appeared the entire audience did. To have a director win Best Director and his entire cast sweep the acting awards at a festival - no matter if it was the Podunk Film Festival or the Sundance Film Festival - is impressive. That wouldn't happen if the acting performances weren't top-notch. It wouldn't happen if the direction wasn't on-point, or excellent. That much, speaks for itself.
While the film is a comedy that achieves the desired result, it also blends elements of drama (not too heavy-handed, but just enough to tug at our heart strings) that balance the picture out nicely.
I particularly liked the theme of friendship throughout the film, which director Sam Borowski conveys by showing several inserts of the characters shaking hands when they first meet. Simple, but effective. The basic premise of the film centers around Justin (Zachary Abel), who gets accepted into USC despite the hesitance of his father to send him because of the high price of admission. Once there, he befriends his roommate Chris (played nicely by Best Supporting Actor at the GDIFF Bryan Williams) and another female student Nicky (Gran Torino's Ahney Her).
All three have their own financial issues, so when Justin and the others are seemingly offered a dream job at the California Villa for a good salary, they take it, Chris and Nicky albeit with a little hesitance on their parts. As the duo suspected, it will be real work, helping care for the elderly. But all is not lost. Enter Ernest Borgnine.
Borgnine shows the three of them how to make it fun during the nights and even opens up his large wallet to fund a nightclub within the home during the after hours. Borgnine, the GDIFF's Best Actor, playing Albert is not only heartwarming, but funny - he says things you wouldn't expect him to say. I will let future audience members discover that for themselves,.
Unfortunately, according to the home's director Ms. Keaton (played comedic ally by Natasha Lyonne), this would break "State Law," which she quotes throughout. And, while she doesn't know about this latest venture, she is always trying to keep the kids on the path of the straight and narrow ... and anal. She wants everything just right, the supply closet stocked a certain way, "with the labels facing out." Lyonne - much like Borgnine - thrives in her role and steals a good portion of this film. She is a nice comedic relief, but she also serves as possibly the character with the best arc when you see her transformation. Perhaps that's why she won Best Actress at the GDIFF! But perhaps even better than Borgnine and Lyonne was Sally Kellerman, who beat out her cast mate Williams to win Best Supporting Actor at the GDIFF! Kellerman's performance as Dorothy, a woman who suffers from dementia, is captivating, and so very real. I still remember the director saying at the awards that she studied real patients who suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia and incorporated that into her performance.
But again, for me, one of the best things I liked about the movie was the personal connection the director had with the material. I remember him saying during his acceptance speech for Best Director at the GDIFF, that his mother suffered from Alzheimer's and that was, in fact, one of the reasons he took this project on. His love of the material, and his mother, clearly shows in the final product.
In conclusion, I will end with a personal opinion: I enjoyed this film very much as it appeared the entire audience did. To have a director win Best Director and his entire cast sweep the acting awards at a festival - no matter if it was the Podunk Film Festival or the Sundance Film Festival - is impressive. That wouldn't happen if the acting performances weren't top-notch. It wouldn't happen if the direction wasn't on-point, or excellent. That much, speaks for itself.