'Finding Joy'
(Barry Bostwick, Josh Cooke, Lainie Kazan, Liane Balaban, et al / DVD / NR / 2014 / Inception Media Group)
Overview: A self-absorbed writer, stuck in more ways than one, rediscovers himself, his offbeat family, and what it means to be happy when he meets Joy, a spirited young woman who asks him to write her obituary.
DVD Verdict: A quaint little tale about a writer and a dysfunctional family. I really enjoyed this, it was funny, witty and had a good little message about life hidden between the absurdity of the characters.
I was not sure what to expect from this though when it first arrived, as I had not read the press release that accompanied it. Nor did I know much about the actors as, aside from Barry Bostwick, I hadn't heard of any of the others. However, I thought it was very well acted. Politely acted, if there were such a thing.
I noted that most of the directors previous works were all shorts so if this is his first attempt at a full length feature it is very impressive and I am sure we will be seeing more brilliance from him in the future.
When a struggling writer, Kyle, falls on hard times, he finds himself back at his quirky parents' home with his tail between his legs. As his life slowly begins to show signs of improvement, he meets a spunky and intriguing woman, Joy, across the street. Her bright outlook and bohemian beauty make him feel truly alive for the first time. But it's short-lived when Joy asks him to write her obituary after she's been told she's going to die!
As he gets to know her further, Kyle falls in love and grows increasingly skeptical about her prognosis. With the help of his wacky family, Kyle pushes fate and hopes to convince Joy that she should spend the many or few years ahead of her, with him.
The story is well written too and the storyline is clever without trying to be overly clever. Nor is the comedy element overbearing. Indeed, it is the type of movie that leaves you wanting a little bit more and hopefully, in time perhaps they could build on this little gem. I was a little bit down and bored this evening and this was just what I needed. I hope it's just what you also need in your lives - you should! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
www.InceptionMediaGroup.com