This film has been on my list to see ever since it received such praise from Roger Ebert, who programmed it at his Overlooked Film Festival. It’s a wonderfully smart film filled with surprises throughout.
Didi (Lara Phillips, ROAD TO PERDITION) meets Mike aka Lucky (Michael Gilio, DON KING: ONLY IN AMERICA) at the Kwik Stop convenience store where she spots him shoplifting. She threatens to turn him in unless he gives her a ride home before he heads off to Los Angeles to start an acting career. Along the way, Didi convinces Mike to take her to LA with him.
At first you think, the film will be a quirky romantic comedy/ road movie, but the film is too good to fall into a simple label. Other key characters include the sad alcoholic Emil (Rich Komenich, MR. 3000) and the heartbroken waitress Ruthie (Karin Anglin, DIRTY WORK).
Didi and Mike represent lives in transition and are people afraid and attracted to change and risk. Didi’s choice to hook up with Mike is not a good idea, but it does lead her to a turning point in life where she makes a bold decision. Both are intriguing characters that seem to be creating an image they want to become. Ruthie and Emil, on the other hand, are characters beholden to past pain, who finally must come to terms with that and move on.
Gilio wrote and directed the film in Chicago on a very low budget. The film shows that he’s smart and talented. The first diner scene is extremely well written, using mystery to hook us in and share information about the characters in a humorous way. For a long time, the film was unavailable, but iFilm recently released it on DVD. This is an overlooked gem that sucks you in and surprises you all along the way.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
