Don's Plum (2001) User Reviews

Fascinating and Hard to Shake

[shelemm · 7/10 · 30 April 2018]

I loved watching these people and the power dynamics created by a group of immature dude friends who bring a new 'date' every Saturday night to the same diner to eat cold fries, drink bad coffee, and talk smack. The girls are temporary fixtures in their world of male aggression and slacker love. How they go along with the jokes, abuse, hugs, and bonding makes for an ever changing landscape of desire and disgust. The group is always right, until one of them tries to assert their independence and momentarily offers a different opinion, and then they in turn become isolated from the others. The alliances shift throughout the film, though the one constant is being alone in a crowd.

Although the film is mostly eight kids sitting around a large booth talking, a few detours have the group interact with a lone diner they taunt who just wants to be ignored, a self-loathing waitress who puts on an act as a people-pleaser, a couple of drug fiends who bully their way into handouts, and a sexed up producer lady who makes movies and makes out.

The audience makes out pretty well too.

Some info about the movie you may not know

[worlddowntownheadlinenew · 5/10 · 9 July 2012]

I've never seen the movie, but I did get to know David Stutman (the Producer) and I can personally see why he sued Leo DiCaprio and all of his agents for basically stopping the movie from distribution and thereby stopping a lot of people from getting paid.

Stutman and some of the others in the producer/writer/actor group were very close friends - there was a lot of smoking pot, drinking, and sexual conduct (not limited to heterosexuality, and involving two big name actors, if you catch my drift). The movie, while seen as a very endearing art-house-style flick by the actors, suddenly became dangerous when Dicaprio was in pre-production for Titanic and Toby was being slated for Cider House rules. With Titanic being released that year and Cider House a year or so later, Don's Plum basically amounted to an early heavily contrasted look at the two actors that the public should never take. Leo's agent's filed an injunction that Stutman had illegally created a movie that Hollywood lawyers had not been present to administer signing of.

Long story short, Stutman made a movie that was distributed 5 years later to the back of the VHS/DVD bin, when it might have been a hit if it was sold or even screened simultaneously with Titanic. I believe that the studio settled with him and forced him to put it off 5 years. I still remember Stutman well, with his tiny house in the middle of Venice Beach, with two big dalmations and a slew of precious Disney cels.

Hypnotic naturalism and cigarette smoke

[gen_bj · 7/10 · 28 January 2005]

If you like naturalistic films, then this film is for you. If you are mesmerised by smoke rising from your cigarette, then this film is for you. Hell, if you appreciate independent film, then there is no point in excluding this one.

Headed by a talented young cast including some of the most famous male actors of Generation X, do not expect the typical mindless American mash that fills up the majority of the shelving space in our video stores. Notably, Leonardo Di Caprio and Tobey Maguire accomplish creating characters that are polar to the characters the audience has come so use to seeing them play. These are in no way the finest performances of the cast so far, but the characters are sharp, interesting and well executed.

Don's Plum contains a hypnotic plot that is completely absent of seen-before action sequences and predictable twists. It is a simple story of a group of friends, the issues that they have had, are having and will have in time to come. The themes brought up throughout the film are relevant to every posse - homosexuality, comradeship, loyalty, ethics, morals, tolerance etc. Most importantly, the viewer is encouraged to arrive at a point of self reflection, as the characters so frequently do in the toilet mirror throughout the film.

Shot in black and white, the emotion of the actors is intensified almost dissolving the other physical elements of the film into insignificance. The acting is unconstrained, even impulsive at times, blurring the line between the character and the actor playing them. The use of sound and music is cleverly executed, with silence and the effect it can have when arriving upon a group of people, playing a major role. The other elements in the film are nowhere near a breakthrough, but are overall appropriate.

If you want to feel motivated to stay in touch with friends or if a favourite of yours is in the cast, get off the couch and watch it. Even if these don't apply to you, there is no harm in checking it out to roast some appreciation of the cast and crew's efforts in a unblemished independent film.

Don't press stop as soon as the credits appear...

Not so bad for a youthful lapse

[Serpentijn · 26 July 2004]

When I rented this film, I was not aware that it was hard to get. I thought it hadn't released in the cinema in Belgium because it was too dark and had simple ended up in a dim corner of the rental place. I didn't have too high expectations. Afterwards I checked for user comments here and felt people were being a bit too harsh. It is true that impact is a little bit lost sometimes because it's hard to relate with the characters. It's hard to admit for anyone that they've asked out a 'friend' sometimes just for accompaniment and self-gratification like the characters seem to do in this film. But I'm a 100 % sure that everyone has done it at least once in their life. This film is hard to watch cause it takes this very aspect of relationships and puts in under a magnifying glass. I even had to interrupt watching it, cause the brutality was making me nervous. I think the film is good in the way that it had it's desired effect. It's not your cup of tea if you want to watch something entertaining, something fun with your friends. Acting is very interesting. Because it mainly plays in the same room and the film is in black and white attention is focused on the words, and even more on the gestures and facial expressions of the characters. It's worth watching if you want to watch something that's not main stream. I hope I've helped constructing the right expectations for this film.

Boring as s***

[hvargas-17826 · 1/10 · 5 November 2021]

I read about the controversy and why this wasn't released prior to watching it. If the director's intention was to make Leo and Toby "look good" then he missed the mark. The movie was incredibly boring, obnoxious and frankly embarrassing. I totally understand why Leo would never have agreed to make this into a full-length film.

Loved this movie, nice work Jenny Lewis!!

[shambolism · 7/10 · 7 May 2006]

Don's Plum. The first time I heard the name, and about the controversy surrounding it, especially with DiCaprio and Macguire, I thought it was a gay romance. On watching it however, I found it to be an interesting, insightful and sometimes confusing bit of film making. Some of the characters are very well portrayed, with their own quirks, and it was the first movie I'd where Leo actually acts. His character, Derek, is not a cute, romantic, retarded guy. He's an annoying, selfish try-hard that seeks attention from the group by whatever means necessary. Ian, Toby's character, is fantastic. He's like a kid with ADD, and for all we know, he does. He's a pacifist, a non-conformer and he's slightly out of it. Macguire does an awesome job with Ian, and it was nice to see a different character from him, other than a wishy-washy pussy-whipped wimp like in Pleasantville or Cider House Rules, or a try-hard super-hero like in Spiderman. The female stars by far outshine their male counterparts. Jenny Lewis is amazing as the dope-addicted Sarah. She brings out a real sense of pathos, though her script needed some work. Amber Benson role as Amy is small, and the only reason Amy is there is to show how much of an arsehole Derek is. The movie is a good sample of what can happen with experimental film. The idea works very well and the small soliloquies in the bathroom are just great. The editing is a bit choppy in some places, and the sound mix could be better, but overall I was very satisfied with the end product. Why Leo and Toby wanted the distribution of the Plum to be suppressed is beyond me.

Amber Benson does it again....

[Evywp · 1/10 · 23 April 2002]

I had the opportunity of seen this film and i was not really impress by the people that seem to have a big name. Titanic Leonardo Di Caprio and Spider mans Tobby Mcguire. Tobby seem to have a very nice touch with his work, but Leo had lost touch of everything since "The Beach." I was overly impress by the job well done by Amber Benson. This film was all improv....and that is hard to do my friends. She shine trough the black and white of the film and showed human emotions like no one else. It was very refreshing to see her doing something very different from her previous work and it really makes you wish that "Chance" [Ms Benson's movie which she wrote, directed, acted and more] was picked up and release soon.

Over all, i dont recommend seen this movie at all. No plot, no point to it, no nothing. I cold not even say "hey! the filming was kewl" cause it wasn't. I think I have seen better stuff from my friends collection of his uncle pass out after a Xmas party. It was a kewl idea, i guess..alone the lines of Blair Witch project but with a steady cam. It took about 11 month, if im not mistaking, and 11 month of film could not make a movie...makes you wonder. Perhaps it was the editing of it, perhaps was the lack of story, perhaps was the acting...you really don't now who to blame since some, Like Amber Benson, shined trough the film and others, like Leo, fall into the darkness of worst than Middle School acting.

If you are very tempted...rent it and keep your remote near by...you'll need it..believe me. Fast forwards becomes your closest friend ;).

Not great, but not terrible either

[GrigoryGirl · 7/10 · 2 April 2023]

This film was shot in the mid 90's, and after Titanic became a hit, the makers of the film wanted to release it, but it was suppressed by Leonardo DiCaprio and (to a lesser degree) Tobey Maguire. One would think it's an embarrassing, awful film considering Leo sued the makers and tried to stop it being released. Well, guess what? It's not a great film by any means, but it's not really that embarrassing and it's your typical 90's Gen X talk fest. Basically, a bunch of Gen Xers sit around at a diner, have cigarettes, coffee, food, and talk about "edgy" topics like sex. This was the kind of stuff that was being made in that decade. Basically indie talk fests. This is typical of those films for better or worse. Those type of films often started out well but got more tiresome as they progressed and they were never as "smart" as they thought they were. This one is like that, too, but does that mean it shouldn't be seen? Of course not. It's a decently made indie movie, shot on low contrast 16mm black and white, like Kevin Smith's Clerks, which came out a year before this film was made. Why DiCaprio hated it is beyond me. It's not THAT bad, Leo.

If you're feeling nostalgic about the 90's, check it out and this will take you back to that time.

As Much Fun As Films Could Get

[michaeltrivedi · 7/10 · 2 October 2019]

Don's Plum is an all around fun time. Leo Dicaprio had his own "Posse" back in his younger days, and this movie draws from those experiences, if not encapulates them perfectly.

The movie is about a group of friends, really social guys, that meet once a week at a diner in Los Angeles. The catch is they have to bring at least one girl to the diner as well. Trouble usually ensues, and whatever other chaos a group of 20 somethings could do. This movie takes place on one of those nights.

Leo Dicaprio plays the memorable cool guy, but it's not his picture. Each character has his own part, and plays it well. It's truly a fun and friendly movie. I would highly suggest watching it. Might be one of the best Dicaprio movies out there.

7 Stars

If you're in love with Jenny Lewis . . .

[dancingmufun_sama · 8/10 · 24 October 2005]

This movie isn't the most incredible thing in the world, but it's really entertaining to witness just how insane Leonardo DiCaprio and Toby Maguire are. I am a HUGE Jenny Lewis fan, so I was super excited to watch her, and she has a fairly large role (one that includes making out with Leo).

If you want to watch it just for Amber Benson, I'm sorry to say she only appears for about 3 minutes, so don't bother.

Check it out if you have a thing for black and white movies about people dealing with their "issues", or if you care to see Leonardo act like an idiot in fake hillbilly teeth.

Too much

[richy29 · 1 July 2004]

SPOILERS AHEAD

I completely missed the discussion about this movie being 'banned' from the theaters in the US. I don't think it's a big loss though. There's just too many Big Topics in this movie to be dealt with in 96 minutes. At least for this director and/or his team of writers. Stories and confessions that are supposed to have a lot of impact, just fall flat. And before you know it there was another member of the cast sharing a terrible secret. In the end I just went: 'Oh dear, so your father killed himself. Bad luck, bro...'

The acting was interesting though. I've never been a Leo fan and that didn't change after seeing Don's Plum. But I thoroughly enjoyed Toby Maguire as a total wacko. Meadow Sisto was very convincing too, although her character was rather dull.

The gimmick with the bathroom mirrors worked well in the beginning. But the novelty wore off rather quickly and it soon turned into nothing more than that: a gimmick. And of course it matters a lot who's in front of the mirror. Some of the performances (like the 'Okay, so I was abused!' scene or the 'hurt hippie' sequence) were just pathetic.

I'd say see it if you're a fan of one or more of the cast members. But don't go out of your way to get hold of it. It's just not a good movie.

A Hidden Gem

[TyTanner · 8/10 · 31 July 2013]

Remarkably, but at the same time not surprisingly, my critique is just the thirteenth review on IMDb of Don's Plum.

Shot in six days but over a span of two years, this black and white low-budget drama has been the subject of litigation in America.

Briefly summarised, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, stars in this film along with an ensemble cast, sought to prevent the film's release by claiming it wasn't intended to be viewed as a big-screen movie, rather it was done as a favour for a friend for an acting exercise.

Two law-suits later, one by the producer David Stutman and the other by John Schindler (who both claimed DiCaprio and Maguire intentionally interfered with the distribution of the movie) and this film can not be shown commercially in the US or Canada, but it was released everywhere else.

So it's fair enough why such a movie has little recognition.

But it is also puzzling why there aren't more evaluations of this title considering in this day and age you can download movies with the press of a button, and also because the movie features two of Hollywood's highest-grossing actors of all time.

Independently filmed in the mid-90s but not released until 2001 (because of the law-suits), Don's Plum is a hidden gem. Shot in a similar fashion to that of Swingers (starring Vince Vaughn, 1996), Don's Plum has a type of raw energy that needs to be seen in order to be appreciated.

Shot almost exclusively in a Los Angeles diner (no prizes for guessing the name of the diner), you could be pardoned for thinking this black and white 90-minute feature might fail to keep you engrossed in the story-line.

But you should think twice, because captivated you will be.

Centred around a group of four twenty-something-year-old friends who attempt to lure girls to join them down at Don's Plum each Saturday night, the dialogue, topics of conversation, raw passion and events that arise over coffee and fries are authentic and vivid portrayals of the human condition.

Each character has a unique personality and all execute classic performances of obnoxious, smart aleck, attention-seeking, but sensitive, vulnerable and innocent youths shouldering issues and struggles which make life and our subsequent social behaviour so fascinating to watch and scrutinise.

The other minor characters whom come and go during the duration of the film add further depth and potency, as does the retro-style soundtrack.

Throughout the film, we witness cuts to the diverse but comparable characters' retreats to the diner's bathroom where each initiates conversation amongst themselves in the mirror, reflecting (pun intended) on their own plights, qualities and thoughts about what is going on.

This offers not only a break from the continuous conversation and bantering around the table, but an insight in to the characters' own lives too.

Dialogue (largely improvised) with obscene language about sex, masturbation, drugs and family problems amongst a group of juveniles is surprisingly and extremely compelling and perceptive; a great credit to each of the characters.

It would be my recommendation for you to find a copy of this film to view just how good some independent and low-budget features can be.

It may even be beneficial that this film has little acknowledgement as that means only the people willing to search for this feature will have the privilege of witnessing its quality.

If you can find it, its worth a viewing.

[plury · 26 January 2003]

Rather dull film overall. It was a stretch to turn this short shot in 1996 into a feature length film, but still interesting to see some of Hollywood's hot young stars improvising in low budget cinema before they were the mega stars that they are today (notably leo pre titanic and toby pre spiderman).

Very very good, ironically

[cestleilacherradi · 10/10 · 12 March 2014]

Though I didn't like every single minute, especially the beginning, the actors were outstanding with authenticity. And the exposed themes were wonderful! It is the opposite of what we usually get from America. But it is a true art movie. I could see myself having those kind of conversations when I was young. It is really good, but unflattering. And if the story of stopping this movie is true, that is very very very sad. But the joy is, for someone who seeks the truth, nothing can stop it, no dollars, no fame, no lawyers, no anything.

I am very interested in Leo DiCaprio's journey as he represents many many aspects of the contemporary human being mental struggles. And I wish he reads these things here sometimes, or on Youtube too, and if he does, I wish to tell him : boy, nothing's better than the truth. You are good without all the appearance efforts. Would you let us see you as you really are?

what´s wrong with hands in his pants?

[Ralfscheapthrill · 24 January 2001]

Yesterday I saw this piece in a small cinema in the basements of berlin. Great Expectations! LeoTitanico in a film he seems to be ashamed of now. But it´s only about a few guy and girls, hanging out, joking and crying, flirting and hurting. I felt touched and amused like watching nick Cassavetes Jr. doing a remake of one of his grandpa´s "everybody gets drunk except the d.p."-kind of "Pre-Dogma"-movies. You can see in Leo´s acting, that he´s not very concerned about "real" acting... He plays an arrogant but hurt young guy, blaming everyone for the mood he´s in and seems to be interested in nothing but f**king. I felt so old, nearly everyone in the plum is about 20! And I´m 26. So afterwards in the subway-station I read the press-notes and I couldn´t believe my eyes: "If you are over 25 you might not like this film" they say. I hate and love you guys for that!

This movie is going to blow your mind - pure art

[majajelepoime · 10/10 · 28 February 2013]

I've just seen this movie and I figured out that I missed a lot cause I didn't watch it earlier. Movie is fantastic. I can't believe this is an movie made in U.S. Actually, this movie is a pure piece of art. It is so realistic and brutal and made with kind of "fake documentary" camera that it will just blow your mind. Black and white technique gives more reality looking of this story. I don't know why this movie is banned in U.S. and Canada but if you are looking for pure drama and excellent acting, this is movie on the list you must see. Brilliant acting of Leonardo and all of the others. I've never hear for name of this director but I am sure that he is such a big artist. I warm recommend Don's Plum to everyone who is over 15 years and who makes different between "art and soap". I like it.

I agree with the first review

[kathys1977 · 3 January 2003]

this is definitely a movie that is not always easy to watch. Its about a group of kids that go and hang out at a restaurant called "Don's Plum". if you are a fan of any of the actors in the movie you really should try to see it. there are some really interesting performances by Dicaprio, Maguire, and Jeremy Sisto . You will definitely see them all in a way that you have never seen them before

An amazing work

[PeterBradford · 9/10 · 13 August 2019]

This is an incredible film. It's a work of art, albeit one that was created in the editing room. Allegedly shot in one night as a short improvisation, additional footage was shot the following year to pad it out into a feature. Leonardo DiCaprio give an amazing performance. There is not a false note in any of his dialogue. Considering it was largely improvised, that's a major artistic accomplishment. Had the film been released around the time it was made, Scott Bloom would be the breakout star. The 23-year-old actor is mesmerizing. Beautifully shot on black and white film with fluid camera work, this is an important film that deserves an audience.