More reaction and reviews to the independent film made in Asheville by Chusy Haney-Jardine continue to roll in. Here’s part of what The Hollywood Reporter has to say:
If the aim was comedy, the result is very much a hit-and-miss affair, with far more misses than hits. If the film was hoping for social commentary, it’s too broad to qualify as a penetrating critique of American racism and xenophobia.
Haney-Jardine and co-writer Jennifer MacDonald (who also happens to be his wife) zero in on irrationality in the heartland. When Tammy (Mary Griffin) receives a bag of pistachio nuts from her Arab paramour (Rafat Abu-Goush), her husband (Mike Ellis) and best pal (Brian Fox) become convinced that he is plotting a terrorist attack and decide on a “pre-emptive strike” to save America. The film’s indictment of America’s foreign policy is far from subtle but does have a certain bite.
The quality of the acting is wildly uneven. Griffin and the actresses who play her two pals, Molly Surrett and Sheilah Ray Hipps, give flavorful performances. The filmmakers’ daughter, Perla Haney-Jardine, holds her own against the adult actors, and Ralph Brierley and Dianne Chapman capture complacency and upper-middle-class befuddlement with a measure of skill. Other performers display their lack of experience.
Haney-Jardine and cinematographer Patrick Rousseau bring Asheville to life, and the eclectic musical score, which encompasses Puccini and Southern bluegrass, is striking. Running a little more than two hours, the film wears out its welcome long before the end credits roll, but give it a few points for wackiness and sheer insane glee.
3 Comments
I found this film to be pointless, painfully self congratulatory, pandering and just plain pretentious. I was at the 2nd screening with a large group of friends and we all left except one. She stayed simply because she had payed for her ticket and didn’t want to feel cheated. Unfortunately, even if I had stayed, I would have felt that way. Sometimes you can try too hard and this film is a classic example of over indulgence in ones own ego.
Thanks Bert! I was posting the indieWIRE review just as you were leaving your comment!
Better reviews are coming out. Remember, the entertainment industry fears independent film makers. They make their films outside the system and they can distribute them outside the system. These reviews from entertainment industry journals are NO surprise. Check out the great review from Indiewire.. http://www.indiewire.com/movies/2008/01/park_city_08_re_16.html
Here is part of the review:
PARK CITY ’08 REVIEW | Crazy/Beautiful: Anthony Haney-Jardine’s "Anywhere, USA"
Park City coverage sponsored by BE KIND REWIND.
by Steve Ramos (January 30, 2008)
High Art crashes into "The Dukes of Hazzard" in writer/director Anthony Haney-Jardine’s "Anywhere, USA," the most unusual of the dramatic competition films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. On one level, "Anywhere" is experimental hokum, a parade of Southern stereotypes and trailer park jokes. Yet, beneath the trashy humor and broad-stroke characters, "Anywhere" claims striking visual beauty, a standout performance and pride in its Ashville, NC locations and residents.