Wild About Harry (2009) User Reviews

Wild About Harry

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 18 December 2021]

Also known as American Primitive, this movie stars Tate Donovan (the voice of Disney's version of Hercules) as the titular Harry, who has just moved to Cape Cod with his teenage daughters Madeline and Daisy. Their goal is to keep all of the women away from their recently widowed father. But what happens next will surprise everyone.

One night, when Madeline and her friends head out to the discos of her new town, she sees her father dancing with Mr. Gibbs (Adam Pascal, SLC Punk!, the original cast of Rent), his new business partner.

This is in 1973, so when the entire town finds out, you can just expect how they react. And when the girl's maternal grandparents arrive to take them away from their father, how a family is defined comes into question.

Directed and co-written by Gwen Wynne (with Mary Beth Fielder), this film may be from 2009, but it's certainly a movie that holds up and is worth checking out.

Wild About Harry

[CinemaSerf · 5/10 · 13 August 2023]

Tate Donovan sports a British accent for this really mediocre family drama that I found quite hard to struggle through. Following the death of his wife, he and his two daughters "Madeline" (Danielle Savre) and "Daisy" (Skye Bartusiak) relocate to a small community on Cape Cod where he falls, a bit unexpectedly, for "Theo" (Adam Pascal). They try to keep their relationship secret but of course the cat can't stay in the bag for long and there now develops an actually quite torrid story of selfishness, intolerance and stupidity. To be fair to Donovan ("Harry") he does just about enough here as the dad juggling truths, lies, love and lust - but "Madeline"! If she had been mine I would have put her in a velvet sack. I wish I could say that it was Savre's talent as an actor that drove me mad, but it wasn't. She is terrible, but shares responsibility for her shocking delivery with the writers who provide a characterisation of this truly odious individual who sneaks around spying on her father; a creature who peeks through keyholes and eavesdrops from the stairs. Imagine if her father had done that to her as she carried on with her own "private" life. The story is all so contrived and frankly unpleasant. It's implausible, and the arrival of the always wooden as a spoon James B. Sikking ("How can you have yellow alert in space dock?") as his religiously bigoted father just further commends this sentimental and flawed drama to the doldrums. Who is this for? Well that's anyone's guess - but it was certainly not for me.

American primitive - one of my picks from the MG Sydney film festival

[mattybman · 9/10 · 21 February 2010]

This film had it all: the drama, the love story , the funny moments and the awkward/ tense moments (Which had me at the edge of my seat) , great acting.

Loved Skye McCole Bartusiak character (played Daisy), she had a naivety about her and really made you laugh.

Danielle Savre who plays Madeline is not one dimensional , you really feel what she is feeling and you want to yell out advice.

You can't help but like Josh Peck who plays Spoke, he is such a sweetheart in the film.

Stacey Dash who played Joy (A minor part) just loved her character - so captivating too, very attractive lady (this is coming from a gay man).

I am so glad I saw this film , this is what a movie is meant to make you feel :)

A funny, family-friendly film!

[skweakx · 10/10 · 12 July 2010]

What a fantastic debut feature from Gwen Wynne. I was privileged to have the opportunity to see it on the big screen at Outfest 2009, and what a joy it was! In all honesty, I went to the film primarily because an actress I admire, Anne Ramsay, played one of the supporting roles. I had no idea I would be in for such an enjoyable afternoon - and subsequently bought tickets to the next (and final) showing of the film. I enjoyed both screenings mightily, and am so glad I had the chance to see it. Contrary to my expectations (from the title I saw it under, "American Primitive"), the film was quite funny, and though I know gay subject matter is still sadly taboo in many American households, I found it to be quite family friendly. I'm actually thrilled to find out that they're changing the title - I think that will likely attract a wider audience, which deserves to see this film.

I also have to emphasize, as I find it irritating in a range of gay films - this film is NOT meant to preach to you. Far from it - it instead tells an honest story, more focused on the coming-of-age of the daughters of a gay man than on his relationship, which functions more as a backdrop than a central focus, a fact I appreciated. A particular stand-out in the cast was Skye McCole Bartusiak as Daisy, who got frequent laughs from both viewing audiences when I was in attendance.

I can't wait for the DVD, as I've been encouraging friends and family alike to see it where it's available, and though a few have managed to catch it at festivals, I would love to be able to force - I mean, cajole - them to purchase the DVD. ;-)

Palm Springs International Film Festival

[rimac-1 · 9/10 · 11 January 2009]

I just saw this movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. It was the "world premier" - which I find odd since the film was shown in 2008 elsewhere. The film said copyright 2009 - so perhaps it was re-edited. Overall I liked the movie, though as a gay man, I realized right away that it was from the viewpoint of the straight daughter. The theme that families of all kinds are valid was the best part. I wish that there had been more understanding of the gay characters, particularly in the era that the film was set. The gay characters seemed dim-witted and incompetent of detailed conversation. Perhaps that's the way they were supposed to appear. I wish the daughter who was the poet had more lines. She was terrific. I do congratulate the producer for a great film on her first try.

Excellent film

[melissacornejol · 10/10 · 22 October 2021]

My in-laws and I had a wonderful experience watching this film at Hyannis film festival, met the producer and the director, extremely wonderful people. Personally, I feel like like nowadays this is a must-watch film.

Charming story about love and family

[sfernald-77318 · 9/10 · 17 October 2021]

We had a sneak peek of this movie at the Hyannis Film Festival on 10/16/2021 and it was a hit. It was partly filmed on Cape Cod so we felt kinship already. The film is based on the story of she and her sister and their two dads in the early 70s. Director Gwen Wynne had a great sense of time and place (she grew up on Cape Cod so the famous Boston/Cape Cod accent was pretty darn good...it's a hard thing to capture. Charming, at times sad and frustrating as we look at the topic from 2021, (spoiler alert) but love triumphed in the end and family includes whom you choose to love. Looking forward to Wynne's next film.

Touching and Heartfelt!

[mctmdckpw · 10/10 · 30 August 2023]

This movie has it all! It's funny, sweet, dramatic. It brings all the feels. Madeline is a teenage girl who discovers her father's secret. It's really about her own problems dealing with the secret, but there are a lot of other characters that have secrets of their own. About the only characters who don't have secrets are the grandparents.

The acting is great, especially the sisters who really act like they grew up together. The father and the boyfriend have good chemistry together, and you really get a sense of how hard it is for them to be closeted in the 70's, but still want to be in love.

The movie is in the 70's, and it really has an authentic 70's feel to it, but without hitting you in the head with it like some movies do.

If you get a chance to see this, and family dramas are your thing, then give this a whirl. You won't regret it!

Teen truth-telling

[huntoonsiri · 10/10 · 12 February 2024]

Set in Cape Cod, shot on luscious film, this movie is a joy to watch. Listen carefully. The characters are so lively and big, it is easy to miss the authorial voice which is often in the quieter lines and even the background noise. Both raw and subtle, this movie is a Jane Austen-like gem!

The scene is mid-'70s. Homosexuality still a crime and gay parenting a worse crime. When she discovers the truth about her father, woundingly soon after her mother's death, Madeleine, the heroine, is at first horrified and furious. "How would you feel if you saw your father kissing another man?" she bitterly shouts at her father.

As in Austen, the lies and betrayals of love don't discriminate. The father denies being "a homosexual" to his lover. Another of the teens finds his mother kissing "another man". Human love is flawed, but none of it should be criminalized, Madeleine and her sister quickly understand.

"You are still not mature enough to tell it like it is"-- Greta Thunberg, to the UN, at age 16. But like Greta, when faced with the truth, 16 year old (or thereabouts) Madeleine finds it in her soul to embrace the tangled truth and be led by love. The boyfriend accepts social defeat and packs his bags but it is Madeleine, who, still in shock from her discovery, prevents him from leaving, saying simply, "You are very important to my father". With these six words she rose above her age, her revulsion, her fear, her grief, and all the weak spots our human hearts, to touch eternal love and bring reconcilation to the family.

A must watch, in our precarious times, when things are poised to go backwards if we are not careful.

SuperB - PERIOD ❗

[jshynd · 8/10 · 24 March 2023]

Watch Wild About Harry; you'll enjoy the full spectrum of teenage angst and maturing realizations of what is reeaalllly important in love and family. Acting is spot-on and the characters ARE the ERA. The naivety of the characters IS an integral part of the "period-piece". Though the film is well-over a decade old, It Should be Distributed in Wide Release because it deserves to be seen and recognized for its acting, writing, directing and poignant message/story telling. Admittedly, I am biased because this is the reverse story of my life - A Story Never to be Repeated - wishing my story could have come full-circle as this one wonderfully did. Congrats to All Involved❗