Shaking the Tree (1990)

A crowd of guys in their 20's spend most of their time hanging out. It's Christmas time in the early 1990's and the guys all begin to think it's about time they went about their lives ... See full summary »

Director:

Duane Clark

Writers:

Duane Clark, Steven Wilde

Stars:

Arye Gross, Gale Hansen, Doug Savant

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arye Gross	...	Barry
Gale Hansen	...	Sully
Doug Savant	...	Michael
Steven Wilde	...	Duke
Courteney Cox	...	Kathleen
Christina Haag	...	Michelle
Michael Arabian	...	Nickel
Dennis Cockrum	...	Bannelli
Nathan Davis	...	Grandpa Sullivan
Ron Dean	...	Duke's Father
Brittney Hansen	...	Brigette
Turk Muller	...	Ape (as Terry Muller)
Ned Schmidtke	...	Mr. Jack
Maurice Chasse	...	Cashier at Stubby's
Dick Sasso	...	New Yorker in Van

Storyline

A crowd of guys in their 20's spend most of their time hanging out. It's Christmas time in the early 1990's and the guys all begin to think it's about time they went about their lives without the comfort of the diner.

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Plot Keywords:

independent film

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amigos Inseparáveis

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Magnificent Mile Productions, Reality Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

References When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

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Soundtracks

"CATCH ME WHEN I FALL"
Performed by Vinx
Written by Duane Clark and David E. Russo (as David Russo)
Produced by David E. Russo (as David Russo)
Courtesy of Beef-n-Brew Music

User Reviews

Amateur production

I admit the only reason I got this movie was the presence of Courteney Cox and, once again, I'm surprised at how bad her early movies really were. It's a good thing she lucked into "Friends," because her choices for film roles were atrocious. I suppose I can't be too hard on her this time, since she only has a tiny part in this self-consciously earnest coming-of-age movie set in bleak Chicago. The first thing that strikes a sour note is the concept, four young men coming to terms with adulthood in an urban environment, quite obviously a ripoff of 'Diner', a much better film from eight years earlier. This movie was made in 1990 but not released until 1992 - a hint of what a turkey it was. The problem is the writing is so poor and the main characters have so little in common, one can't sympathize with them or even see why they would hang out together. Check the credits for the writers and you won't be surprised to see they hadn't written anything before or since. Courteney is little more than a pudgy and very pregnant wife whose husband is cheating on her -- talk about being miscast! The storylines for the four guys seem cliched and lack any real depth. By the time the smarmy conclusion comes, you just don't care.