"MOM" released on DVD as "Big Dreams in Little Hope"!
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Metro Weekly Rating:
(5 out of 5)
CRITIC'S PICK!
by Randy Shulman
"THIS IS WHY we go to film festivals -- to unearth a rare gem like Mom." - Randy Shulman
Directed by Erin Greenwell, winner of the 2003 Reel Affirmations Plant A Seed grant, this is a terrific little film that's relayed on an intimate, human scale and laced with wonderful grace notes that combine to pay off in an ending that leaves you grinning ear-to-ear.
Emily Burton plays Kelly, a market researcher with aspirations of being a TV news field reporter. She's shipped off to Little Hope to gather data for her marketing firm, accompanied by Linda (Julie Goldman), a butch, talkative cameraperson who has aspirations of her own (she wants to be a tattoo artist). Their adventure together has its ups and downs -- when the local hotel runs out of rooms, they're required to stay at a Youth Hostel, presided over by a snarling manager (pitch-perfect Mary C. Matthews) -- but when all is said and done, they learn a few things about themselves and each other that helps them gain a greater perspective about life
''What's your best day ever?'' asks the ceaselessly inquisitive Linda of Kelly.''I've never had a best day,'' comes the reply, ''because I always wanted to be someplace better.''
Great films don't just happen -- they are often created out of passion, talent and vision. Greenwell has so much passion, talent and vision to spare, she should bottle it and sell it off the shelf to her colleagues. She has a solid crew working with her, including director of photography George Su, who, using digital video, creates a bright, sunny, lush look for Mom.
Though still a little rough in spots, Mom's overall pacing is spot on, its script witty, natural and intelligent, and the performances Greenwell coaxes from her mostly female cast are exceptional. Goldman is a revelation -- warm, funny, poignant. And Burton makes the insufferably high-strung Kelly a sympathetic character.
This film is a first step for Greenwell -- but it's
one hell of a confident step. With any luck it will lead to a long and
fruitful road of films that, like Mom, entertain and delight while gently
touching our hearts.
original
link here
By RONNIE SCHEIB
In Erin Greenwell's female buddy movie, "Mom," a mismatched
odd couple of market researchers, one uptight and straight and the other
hang-loose and butch, is stranded in the town of New Hope during the annual
Chili Cook-Off. Practiced sketch thesps Emily Burton and Julie Goldman
keep the character comedy light, affable and neatly-timed as they ask
overly specific questions in customer preference surveys, hole up in a
local hostel and grapple with old girlfriends or new job opportunities.
Minor but likable pic could transition from gay fest circuit to cable.
Ambitious Kelly (Burton) sees her stint at a market research firm as a
stepping stone to a coveted job as a field reporter. Her laid-back cameraperson
Linda (Goldman) sees the assignment as a means of earning enough money
to buy a tattoo parlor. Traveling house to house and asking questions
whose relevance strains credulity, the duo is hardly simpatico.
One of the interview subjects turns out to be an old g.f. of Linda's, now respectably settled and married, and they briefly rekindle the flame. Meanwhile, career-minded Kelly aggressively pursues a possible position at a radio station. Ultimately, however, the local Chili Cook-Off allows the womento bond in a relatively meaningful, if comically doomed joint endeavor.
Greenwell, in her sophomore outing, relies on little comic touches and bits of business instead of big laughs or elaborate payoffs. Every encounter adds a touch of sociological satire or oddball color to the comfortable canvas, which is never mean-spirited or judgmental. Burton and Goldman amble along nicely in soft-shoe counterpoint, their routine nonchalantly synchronized to improv rhythms.
George Su's DV lensing stresses the intimacy and smalltown
feel of the location shooting without feeling claustrophobic. Terry Dame's
bouncy score is in line with the pic's gentle irony.
original
link here
Reel Affirmations makes the grade
Local gay film festival celebrates 15 years with screen gems and a few
clunkers
Friday, October 14, 2005
“"Get ready for some new favorites,
like lesbian buddy movie Mom" - Washington Blade
Type -A market researcher Kelly (Emily Burton) teams up with lesbian
cameraperson and aspiring tattoo artist Linda (lesbian comedian Julie
Goldman) in this classic buddy movie with a lesbian twist from director
Erin Greenwell. As the two women travel cross-country together, Linda
irritates Kelly with her endless stream of offbeat questions and commentary.
Linda doesn’'t win any points for screwing up a hotel reservation,
which results in the two women staying in a small-town youth hostel ...
As with most buddy movies, this is funny and engaging and, despite rehashing
old ground, feels fresh and lively due to the excellent comedic training
of its leads. (KV)
Grade: A-
excerpts from:
Coming to a Theater Soon...Hopefully
by Amy Silverman
Curve Magazine
Feb 2006 Volume 16 #1
Excerpts from Cowboy down
The Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival in the shadow of Brokeback
By: PETER KEOUGH
Erin Greenwell’;s Mom (2006; May 12, 7 pm, with star Julie
Goldman and director Erin Greenwell present) might match Dunn’'s
film in threadbare budget, funky detail, and first-rate acting, but she
strays far from Dogme in her embrace of generic conventions —; in
this case the buddy movie. Straight and humorless, Kelly (Emily Burton)
works for a PR firm, dropping in on random households and asking questions
like “"How would you like your house to smell?"”
and “"If there was more orange juice available, would you drink
it?"” Her dream is to become a TV reporter. Linda (a hilarious
Julie Goldman), her butch and easygoing cameraperson, has ambitions also.
She wants to open a tattoo parlor someday; in the meantime, she practices
on oranges.
They make a strained working unit that's tested when they’'re sent
to the redneck town of Little Hope on assignment. The annual chili cook-off
has filled all the town’'s hotel rooms, and they have to stay at
a youth hostel. The comic options get unwieldy, but Greenwell and Goldman
keep it light and quirky. And in this successful accommodation of a queer
sensibility to mainstream demands, the characters attempt to do the same,
with mixed if entertaining results.
original
link here